Parking in Front of a Post Office Garage Exit

Facts

On September 2, 1964, Mrs. Ingold drove her passenger car onto the forecourt of the post office garage in Heiden in order to turn around and follow a post office vehicle that was ready for an excursion. As she was standing on the forecourt, another post office vehicle reversed out of the bay and collided with her vehicle. The District Court of Vorderland subsequently fined Mrs. Ingold 30 francs for violating Article 37(2) of the Swiss Road Traffic Act (SVG) and Article 18(3) of the Road Traffic Regulations (VRV).

Mrs. Ingold filed a nullity appeal against the judgment, requesting that the case be remanded to the District Court for acquittal.

Considerations

The Court of Cassation states that the traffic regulations pursuant to Articles 26-57 of the SVG in conjunction with the VRV only apply to "roads serving public traffic." The forecourt in front of the post office garage in Heiden is used by the post office vehicles housed in the bays and is therefore a road within the meaning of Article 1(1) of the VRV.

Whether the forecourt is also public, i.e., not reserved exclusively for the internal operations of the postal administration, must still be clarified by the District Court. If the forecourt were public, Mrs. Ingold would have violated Article 37(2) of the SVG by parking her vehicle there, where it could have obstructed or endangered traffic.