Driving rules in Austria: what every visitor should know

 

Driving in Austria is mostly familiar, but a few local rules can easily catch you out. Here are the essentials before your road trip.

 

Speed limits

 

 

• 50 km/h — in built-up areas;


• 100 km/h — on country roads;


• 130 km/h — on motorways (Autobahn).


 

 

 

Speed enforcement is strict and cameras are common. Even small excesses are caught, so stay within the limit.

 

 

Alcohol at the wheel

 

 

The general limit is 0.5 per mille. For drivers with less than 3 years' experience and for professional drivers it is 0.1 per mille — effectively zero. Penalties are severe and can include losing your licence.

 

 

Seatbelts and children

 

 

Everyone must wear a seatbelt, front and back. Children travel in a child seat matched to their height and age (see the article "Child seats in Austria").

 

 

Mobile phones

 

 

You may use a phone only with a hands-free set. Holding the phone is prohibited and fined.

 

 

Headlights

 

 

Daytime headlights are not compulsory for cars, but you must switch them on in tunnels, in poor visibility, in rain and at dusk. Motorcycles must always use dipped headlights.

 

 

The emergency corridor (Rettungsgasse)

 

 

In a traffic jam on a motorway, drivers must form a free corridor for emergency services — between the far-left lane and the next one. Do this as soon as traffic stops, without waiting for the sirens. The fine for failing to do so is high.

 

 

A few more rules

 

 

• At a roundabout, traffic already on the roundabout has priority.


• Trams have priority; you must stop when passengers board or get off.


• The motorway vignette is already on your rental car; separate alpine tunnels are paid extra (see "Austrian toll routes — Streckenmaut").


 

 

 

Emergency numbers

 

 

• 112 — single European emergency number;


• 133 — police, 144 — ambulance, 122 — fire, 140 — mountain rescue;


• roadside assistance: 120 (ÖAMTC) or 123 (ARBÖ).