For the first time in Upper Austria

Notice served: Speeding driver awaits auction

A 17-year-old test driver's license holder could soon lose this VW Passat.(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

"We have sent out the final confiscation notice" - for the first time in Upper Austria, the car of an extreme speeding driver could actually end up under the hammer and be auctioned off. A 17-year-old probationary driver's license holder is affected.

Nails with heads - or rather hammers at the auction desk - are now being put under the hammer for the first time in Upper Austria. Since March 1, vehicles belonging to extreme speeders can be confiscated and, in extreme cases, auctioned off. Up to now, all lead-footed offenders have had their confiscated cars returned to them. This could now change: "We have sent out the final confiscation notice," says Manfred Hageneder, district governor of Linz-Land, about the case of a 17-year-old from Salzburg.

At 200 km/h on the highway
As reported, the young lead-footed driver was speeding along the Westautobahn at almost 200 km/h on August 11th and was clocked at 100 km/h in Ansfelden with a speed limit of 92 km/h - the police confiscated his VW Passat.

So far, all extreme speeders have had their vehicles returned to them afterwards, usually because they were not the owners of the cars. This is likely to be different with the 17-year-old: "Based on his statements, we assume that he is also the owner," says Hageneder. For this reason, his authority has ordered the final vehicle inspection, which will subsequently lead to the "forfeiture" and thus the auction of the VW.

Decision not yet legally binding
First of all, however, the 17-year-old has the opportunity to lodge an appeal against the confiscation order. Only when this becomes legally binding can the auction take place. The district governor currently assumes that this will be the case.

In this case, Hagender has already announced to the "Krone" that the car will be sold "by way of an auction at the Dorotheum", for example. 70 percent of the sale price would go to the Austrian Road Safety Fund, with the remainder going to the state of Upper Austria.