Please enjoy your hire car in Austria.
Your hire car in Austria can be collected from Graz Airport,
Vienna Airport, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz and Saltzberg
Airports.
Are you going on holiday to Austria? To see
as much as possible and to get the most out of Austria, the
best way of transport is certainly by car. But of course you
will have to abide by Austria's law of driving. Below you
will find some useful information about driving in Austria.
Documents you need when driving in Austria
To drive a foreign registered car legally in Austria you must
have the following documents with you, which are your passport,
current full driving licence and valid insurance certificate
a minimum Third Party cover.
Special rules you must follow
When driving in Austria all vehicles must carry a warning
triangle and a first aid kit. Do not cross a solid yellow
line. For all passengers it is compulsory to wear both front
and rear seatbelts. Dipped lights are compulsory in built
up areas. Never overtake a school bus when its red lights
are flashing. The police are able to issue and collect 'on
the spot fines' for not obeying these rules.
Minimum age
The minimum age of a driver in Spain is 18 years. Children
under 12 years of age are not allowed on the front seats of
a vehicle.
Parking
Parking in Austria is similar to Britain with car parks and
parking meters. Limited parking zones (blue zones) with a
maximum parking time of 1 1/2 or 3 hours are clearly marked
as such e.g. the whole downtown Vienna area. In larger towns
and cities of Austria, a parking voucher must be bought. Vouchers
can be obtained from most tobacconists and from banks and
some petrol stations; these vouchers must be clearly displayed
on the inside of the windscreen.
A few basic rules
In Austria, they drive on the right and overtake on the left.
If you see the flashing of headlights is used as a warning.
Dipped headlights should be used in built-up areas at night.
Do not cross or straddle solid yellow lines in the centre
of the road. Information on road conditions and the traffic
situation is available in English 7 days a week from 6:00am
to 8:00pm from Austrian Automobile Club: call 71 19 97 in
Vienna, (1) 71 19 97 from anywhere in Austria. It is illegal
for the driver to use a mobile phone without the assistance
of a 'hands-free' kit. Accidents involving injury must immediately
be notified to the police. Accidents not involving injury
must only be reported if the owner of property damaged cannot
be identified.
Motorcycles
For motorcycle, both driver and passenger on the motorcycle
must wear helmets also the vehicle must have lights on at
all times.
Speed limits
Built-up areas: 50 kph (31 mph)
Major roads outside towns: 100 kph (62 mph)
Motorways: 130 kph (81 mph)
Some motorways: 22:00hrs to 05:00hrs 110 kph (68 mph)
Vorarlberg & Tyrol: 80 kph (50 mph)
Road:
If you are ever in an emergency, you should dial 120 or 123
for emergency breakdowns. Tolls must be paid on all Austrian
motorways where tourists can purchase 10-day, 2-monthly or
1-year discs, which are available at all major border crossings
and at post offices. The cost for the weekly disc is approximately
€7.63 for cars up to 3.5 tons and are valid for up to
10 days. For the 2-monthly disc, it approximately costs €21.80
for cars below 3.5 tons, which is valid for two consecutive
calendar months Heavy vehicles have to pay higher tariffs
and motorcycles pay less.
Bus and coach
There is a bus and coach services, which are run by federal
and local authorities, as well as private companies. There
are over 1800 services in operation at this present time.
Timetables and prices for coach services can be found in the
Austrian bus guide. For further information, contact Central
Bus Information (tel: (1) 794 440, e-mail: [email protected],
website: www.postbus.at). Coach excursions and sightseeing
tours run from most major cities.
Urban:
Vienna has an extensive system of metro, buses, light rail
and tramway services. Most routes have a flat fare, and there
are pre-purchase multi-journey tickets and passes. The Vienna
card entitles visitors to 72 hours of unlimited travel by
underground, bus and tram. It also entitles the holder to
reductions at several museums and other tourist attractions
in the city as well as shops, cafes and wine taverns. A card
can be purchased at hotels or at Vienna Transport's ticket
offices
Travel times:
The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours
and minutes) from Vienna to other major cities/towns in Austria.
Road
Salzburg 3.00
Linz 2.00
Innsbruck 5.00
Bregenz 7.00
Klagenfurt 4.00
Graz 2.40
Driving in Austria will be a pleasurable experience as long
as you remember you are in their country and abide by their
laws. Please remember it is not a good enough excuse to plead
ignorance, as you are a foreigner, you are the driver and
it's your responsibility to know the law.