Austrian Highway Toll Grace Period, What’s the Truth?
Austrian highway vignettes are essential for driving on motorways in Austria. But what happens if we forget to purchase the vignette before entering the highway? Is there a grace period during which we can drive without a vignette without being fined?
Unfortunately, the grace period is a myth. In Austria, there is no grace period for purchasing highway vignettes. If you drive onto the highway without a vignette, you can expect a fine. The amount of the fine varies depending on the type of vignette and the duration of driving without a vignette.
If someone is caught on Austrian highways or expressways without a valid sticker, an immediate on-site fine will be imposed. For passenger car drivers, the fine is a minimum of 120 euros, while for motorcyclists, it is 65 euros.
In the event that we cannot pay the on-site fine immediately, we must expect further consequences. In this case, an official report will be prepared, and the fine amount will increase to 300 euros. In the worst-case scenario, the fine can be up to 3,000 euros if the driver continues to fail to settle the fine.
How Can We Avoid Penalties?
The simplest way to avoid a fine is to purchase the highway vignette in advance. You can do this online on the ASFINAG website or app, or at gas stations and highway toll points near the Austrian border.
It is important to note that ASFINAG frequently checks highways, and the police also operate mobile checkpoints.
Trap Situations That Can Lead to Penalties
When driving on the highway in Austria, there are several trap situations that can lead to a fine.
One such example is purchasing a highway vignette online. Since European consumer laws allow buyers to withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days, this option is also available for online-purchased highway vignettes. Withdrawal is possible via mail, which ASFINAG allows 3 days for, and therefore they have established a rule that online-purchased 2-month or annual vignettes are only valid from the 18th day.
This means that even if we want to buy a 2-month or 1-year Austrian highway vignette online from the day of purchase or the next few days, they only become valid on the 18th day. The exception is if we purchase the vignette as a business and do so in accordance with the laws, because in this case, the right of withdrawal for private users does not apply to us, and we do not have to wait 18 days for highway vignettes.
Similarly, the 1-day and 10-day stickers are an exception, as they are shorter than the 14-day right of withdrawal, and these can be purchased online with immediate effect. In this case, of course, we waive the right of withdrawal during the purchase, and we cannot get our money back if we request it.
If you want to purchase an immediately valid 2-month or 1-year highway vignette, you can do so at hundreds of gas stations or other sales points throughout Austria. In this case, you must affix the obtained vignette to the windshield as prescribed. If you do not attach it, you will still receive a fine, even if you have purchased it.
The second potential pitfall is that while Austrian highway vignettes are valid throughout Austria, there are highway sections that were built with private financing, and for these, the Austrian highway vignette is not sufficient, and we must pay an additional fee. These include the A13 Brenner highway, part of the A10 Tauern highway, part of the S16 Arlberg expressway, part of the A11 Karawanken highway, and part of the A9 Pyhrn highway with its two tunnels.
The map below shows in green the road sections where an Austrian highway vignette is not enough, and an additional fee is required. Always check before traveling that this information is up to date:
On the ASFINAG website, we have the option to purchase a one-time supplementary ticket for any road section, or buy a round-trip ticket, and there are also multi-trip cards available. The newest service is ASFINAG FLEX, where the system automatically deducts the fees for these sections from the associated payment method when we drive through them.
