Unlike other countries that have a pay-as-you-use toll system on major roads, Switzerland expects drivers using its autoroute system to pay an annual fee of 40 Swiss Francs. When you pay, you get a windshield sticker you display for the rest of the year.

Traditionally, traffic police give motorists the whole month of January to purchase the sticker. There is no penalty for driving without it during that month—it is a month of grace. But when the first days of February come, expect to see the traffic police on the autoroute exit ramps checking for cars without the sticker. No more excuses are accepted; no more time is given. The grace period has ended.