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Switzerland wants to 'legalise' drink driving...for rubber boats

The Local/AFP
The Local/AFP - [email protected]
Switzerland wants to 'legalise' drink driving...for rubber boats
The draft laws aren't set to come in before 2020. Photo: Depositphotos"

It’s one of the great tradition of the Swiss summer, jumping in a rubber boat, sailing down a river…and drinking plenty of booze along the way.

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Now, in a rare case that could actually see safety laws being loosened, the Swiss government has said it wants to scrap blood-alcohol limits for the drivers of small, non-motorised craft.

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Until now, the pilots of these boats have been subject to the same stringent laws as all other ship captains.

But in a statement released on Thursday, the transport ministry justified the draft revision to the law saying small vessels posed little risk to other boats.

The new draft law would affect boats up to 2.5 metres in length and non-motorised rubber boats up to 4 metres in length. Also exempt from alcohol limits under the changes would be windsurfers and kiteboarders along with canoeists and kayakers.

Under the planned law, the need to register these small craft would also be scrapped.

The change to the law has already been green-lighted by the national parliament and is now the subject of a consultation process.

But before you get too carried away, a warning: the changes are not set to come in until 2020.

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