10 December 2013: Authorities Crack Down on Drunk Road-Users During the Holiday; Driving Fast Comes at a High Price; Mega Concerts to Return to Basel; Basel’s Public Transport Problems Solved – One of Them at Least

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Timed to coincide with the start of Advent and the festive holiday season, Basel-Stadt police have begun aggressively using traffic control stops to do spot checks for drunken drivers. Last Friday night at the Heuwaage Viadukt, a frequently-used thoroughfare by Basel-bound partygoers, a large checkpoint was in effect. Out of the 499 autos which were stopped and checked using alcohol breath tests, fortunately only 2 drivers were arrested due to intoxication beyond legal limits for drivers. The spokesman for the City’s police expressed satisfaction with the results of Friday night's police action, saying, by comparison throughout all of 2012, 1 in 10 accidents were associated with drunk drivers. Not all of those affected by the stops are pleased however. Small shop and restaurant owners feel such police activity discourages holiday merry-makers from stopping in.

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 A 30-year-old motorist is now finding himself without his licence or a car after being blitzed driving at more than twice the legal speed limit in a tunnel in the small town of Grellingen, some 15 kilometres south of Basel.

The police got lucky last Thursday, mid-morning, as the foreigner was clocked at 121 kilometres an hour in the tunnel which has a speed limit of just 50. His licence, which was taken away on the spot, will remain out of reach for at least two years. But that’s not all. As well as a hefty fine, the speedster’s car was also confiscated by the authorities.

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And it seems that road tunnels attract bad behaviour. Two days later – last Sunday – police stopped a car travelling through a Tunnel near Füllinsdorf that hadn’t even been opened for traffic. At the wheel of the car was a 50-year-old who had enjoyed well over twice the alcohol limit for road users. He said he couldn’t remember how he got into the tunnel, but probably won’t forget the large fine he now faces, plus the fact that he won’t be using the roads again anytime soon.

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But for one habitual law-breaker, any new, tougher measures are all too late. A Turkish man has been given 30 days to leave Switzerland, despite being born in this country.

In a five to zero vote, a court in Basel-Land upheld an earlier decision to throw the man out of Switzerland because of a series – practically one after the other – of violations of the country’s traffic code. From 2004 to 2012 the man racked up a string of offences from a number of cantons, including speeding, driving while disqualified, driving while unfit, misuse of vehicle number plates and deliberately avoiding roadside police controls. The cascade of offences came to a sudden end in 2012 when he received a two-year prison term for offences which also included theft, perjury, threatening behaviour and assault.

The court heard that the man, despite spending more than 20 of his 33 years in Switzerland, still has strong links with Turkey, visiting close relatives there and even completing Turkish military service.

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The last time Basel played host to a stadium-sized music concert was 2004 when AC/DC played the St. Jakob's football stadium. Well the hiatus now appears to be coming to an end. Thanks to venue organizers providing a new fee-waiver scheme, large, open-air events now appear attractive to promoters, bands and their managers. Just in time too, as the management of Metallica has announced that they intend to play the venue for the 4th of July this upcoming 2014. Intended as a test-run, stadium managers eagerly await to see how the concert is received and if all interested parties are satisfied with the event's outcome.

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Remember the recent problems of Basel Stadt’s tram and bus company, with more than one crisis reported on by The English Show? Well, it seems the end may be in sight, at least for one of their problems, after the company’s President, Martin Guldenrath announced yesterday that he is to resign. The announcement came after the Canton’s audit commission upheld allegations of irregularities, including over payments and  nepotism. Also out is Dominik Egli, president of the executive’s Finance & Compliance sub-committee.  

In his letter giving up the BVB’s top job, Guldenrath said he hoped his resignation would help reverse the loss of confidence that the transport company has suffered over the past few months.

However, the BVB Director, Jürg Baumgartner, is to stay, despite the fact that some of his management decisions had also raised some suspicions.

The Board also added that the resignations will not alter the company’s strategic direction for the future. So I guess it’s keep watching this space.

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