Higher penalties for over speeding: Driver’s license suspension period and penalties

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Austria: On September 1, 2021, the “speeding package” amendment goes into effect. The changes in the Road Traffic Act and the Driver’s License Act mainly relate to massive exceeding of the legal speed limits in local areas and on open roads and the associated penalties and driver’s license measures.

“It is also a matter of being able to take effective action against illegal street racing. These have become an ever-increasing burden and source of danger in many communities,” ÖAMTC chief lawyer Martin Hoffer said.

For a deterrent effect of the penalties for extreme speeding, it is important that these measures are sufficiently communicated, which was one of the reasons for this amendment. From now on, more can be done against reckless hooligans. However, the density and quality of monitoring by the executive are crucial, because the threat of punishment alone does not deter real speeders. In order to guarantee legal certainty in the case of such serious punitive measures, the mobility club pleads for appropriate photo documentation of the speed and license plate number in the case of laser measurements in order to avoid reading errors.

Driving license suspension period and maximum penalty doubled
Who in the future the prescribed speed limits in the local area or open country massively exceeds, must expect starting from September with a clearly longer driver’s license withdrawal.The chief lawyer calls examples: “If so far with first-time offence around 41 to 60 km/h in the local area a driver’s license withdrawal of two weeks threatened, then it is now a month. If the offense repeats itself, three months threaten. With each further transgression, depending on the severity, it is three to six months. “Once a violation has been committed, the entry in the driver’s license register expires only after four years. After that, a similar violation is considered a “first-time” offense. In addition, the penalties for serious violations have been more than doubled in some cases, for example the maximum fine has been raised from 2,180 to 5,000 euros. The confiscation of vehicles, which was also discussed as part of the “speeding package,” is likely to be fleshed out in the coming months.

For more information, details about the new regulations, click the link below:

Zulässige Höchstgeschwindigkeiten in Österreich | ÖAMTC (oeamtc.at)