New rule in Austria: the police can now take the car from tourists

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Those who drive too fast on Austrian motorways will face hefty fines in the future. The Austrian government decided this on Wednesday, the newspaper “Bild” reported.

From March 1, 2024, the Austrian police can no longer just take the ticket from a speeding offender – the car can also be seized. In concrete terms: If a speeding offender is caught at 60 km/h in built-up areas or at 70 km/h outside built-up areas, the car is immediately confiscated and the driver’s license confiscated.

Particularly strict: these rules also apply to tourists. The responsible district administration will then decide within 14 days whether the car will be returned to the owner or whether it will be definitively confiscated. According to the “Bild”, authorities keep the car for “extreme offenses or repeat offenders”.

An “extreme offence”, according to the newspaper, is when someone is caught speeding 80 km/h in the city or 90 km/h outside the city – in this case he is permanently off his car. So if you get caught on a 100 km/h section of the Autobahn at 190 km/h, you have to give up your vehicle forever. This also applies to the first offense.

Anyone who goes in and out of the city too fast and has been caught in the past four years is considered a “multiple offender.” Even then, the car is gone forever.

Cars are auctioned

The seized cars then go under the hammer and are auctioned. The state and municipality that caught the speed demon keep the money.

Incidentally, the car hammer does not indemnify you from a fine. Anyone caught in extreme anger in or out of town not only loses their car, but collects a juicy ticket on top of that. The same goes for tourists: in Austria it is essential to keep to the speed limit! (zis)

Source: Blick