Penalties for traffic offences in Vienna
In Austria, there are no common penalties for violation of traffic rules. Each region of the country has different penalties. Police officers have the right to charge on-the-spot fines. Having rented a car in Vienna and violated traffic rules, you will be issued an official receipt. If the fine is a huge amount, you will be asked to make a deposit and complete the balance within 14 days. The size of the fine is often at the discretion of the police, depending on the specific road conditions.
Traffic offences and penalties
| Traffic offences |
On-the-spot fines (€) |
Court fines
(€) |
| Driving on shoulders |
7 |
10 to 40 |
| Ignoring stop lines |
36 |
30 to 60 |
| Violating traffic rules (overtaking, changing direction, signalling, etc.) |
21 |
36 to 42 |
| Creating obstacles to other cars when overtaking |
21 |
36 to 80 |
| Prohibited overtaking |
36 |
50 to 70 |
| Railroad crossing violations |
36 |
58 to 100 |
| Violating give way rules |
21 |
70 |
| Crossing a red traffic light |
36 |
58 to 70 |
| Crossing a yellow traffic light |
21 |
36 to 42 |
| Throwing litter from the vehicle to the road |
7 |
40 |
| Using fog lights when visibility is good |
21 |
36 to 60 |
| Failure to maintain minimum distance to the vehicle in front |
- |
36 to 2180 |
| Driving on a highway without vignettes |
120 |
300 to 3000 |
| Exceeding the parking time, or parking in the wrong place |
36 |
- |
| Turning off the headlights when visibility is poor |
21 |
- |
| Violation of child restraint requirements |
35 |
- |
| Failure to fasten seatbelt (passenger or driver seat belt) |
35 |
- |
| Using a mobile phone without a headset while driving |
50 |
- |
The size of speeding penalties depends on how the offence was recorded – by a radar or by a police officer.
Speeding fines in Vienna
| Speeding |
Radar (€) |
Police officer (€) |
| 20 km/h or less |
29-50 |
21 |
| 20 to 30 km/h |
50-72 |
29-36 |
| 30 to 40 km/h |
70-160 |
70 |
| 40 km/h and above |
150-2180 and a driving ban from 6 weeks and above |
- |
Fines for speeding outside the city
| Speeding |
Radar (€) |
Police officer (€) |
| 20 km/h or less |
29-50 |
21 |
| 20 to 30 km/h |
50-90 |
29-36 |
| 30 to 40 km/h |
140-300 |
70 |
| 40 km/h and above |
150-2180 and a driving ban from 6 weeks and above |
- |
Fines for speeding on an expressway
| Speeding |
Radar (€) |
Police officer (€) |
| 10 km/h or less |
30 |
20 |
| 20 km/h or less |
45 |
35 |
| 20 to 30 km/h |
60 |
50 |
| 30 to 40 km/h |
70-160 |
70 |
| 40 km/h and above |
150-2180 and a driving ban from 6 weeks and above |
- |
Speed limits
There are standard speed limits for vehicles across Austria:
- 50 km/h in built-up areas;
- 80 km/h for country roads;
- 100 km/h for highways.
The minimum permissible speed on expressways is 60 km/h. Having rented a car in Vienna with studded tires, you can drive on main roads not exceeding 100 km/h, and on other routes - 80 km/h.
Parking
In almost all the streets in Vienna, parking is chargeable and limited in time. Below are the rates:
- free of charge if the parking is 10 minutes or less
- 1 euro for 30 minutes
- 2 euros for 1 hour
- 3 euros for 1 hr 30 min
- 4 euros for 2 hours.
If you want to park your car for a longer period, it is better to use underground garages (about 25 euros per day) or P+R parking lots (3 euros per day).
Permissible blood alcohol levels
The maximum permissible level of alcohol in the blood for driving in Vienna is 0.49 ‰. For drivers with less than 2 years of driving experience, the figure is 0.1 ‰. Exceeding these levels incurs the following severe penalties:
| Drunk driving (from 0.5‰ to 0.79 ‰) |
a fine of 300 to 3700 euros; repeated violation – referral to a psychologist (200 euros) |
| Drunk driving (from 0.8‰ to 1.19 ‰) |
a fine of 800 to 3700 euros and a driving ban for 1 month; repeated violation – a fine and a driving ban for 3 months |
| Drunk driving (from 1.2‰ to 1.59 ‰) |
a fine of 1200 to 4400 euros and a driving ban for 4 months |
| Drunk driving (above 1.6 ‰) |
a fine of 1600 to 5900 euros and a driving ban for six months |
| Refusal to take a blood or breath test for alcohol |
a fine of 1600 to 5900 euros and a driving ban for six months |
Fuel cost
Having rented a car in Vienna, you can refuel the car at any local filling station selling unleaded gasoline (98 and 95) and diesel fuel. Sale of leaded fuel is prohibited. There are also some gas stations but they are few. You can carry no more than 10 litters of fuel in cans.
Average fuel cost in Vienna
| Gasoline 95 |
1.42 euros |
| Gasoline 98 |
1.55 euros |
| Diesel fuel |
1.36 euros |
Toll roads
In Austria, using some highways, motorways and special road sections are chargeable (vignette). Depending on the type, drivers can use toll roads within a certain period of time.
Cost of vignettes:
- 8.30 euros for 10 days
- 24.20 euros for 60 days;
- 80.60 euros for 365 days.
You can buy a vignette at some filling stations in Austria and bordering countries. It must be affixed to the car before you drive into the toll road.
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