After laser measurement

Speeding driver simply turned off the lights at 191 km/h

The BMW was provisionally confiscated(Bild: Kerschbaummayr Werner, Krone KREATIV)

A priority check by the Linz city police on Saturday night ended with two cars being temporarily taken off the road. Two novice drivers were driving more than twice as fast as permitted. One was particularly brazen: After the laser measurement, he simply drove on without lights.

A white BMW 530d could soon change hands. The car was confiscated, at least temporarily, during a police operation on Saturday night. Whether it will also be auctioned off will only be decided in the coming weeks.

Speeding hotspot
The North Macedonian (21) from Haid, who was at the wheel, was driving the powerful car at 191 km/h in a 70 km/h zone on the Salzburgerstraße, which is known as a speeding hotspot. When he noticed that he was being subjected to a laser measurement, he is said to have simply turned off his car's lights and driven on. Police officers followed him and were able to stop the speeding driver at the next red light. The 21-year-old feigned complete ignorance - he and his passenger were allowed to take a cab home.

High horsepower alone is not the problem. It also depends on the maturity of the person sitting behind the wheel.

Heinz Oberauer, Fachbereichsleiter Verkehrsreferat, SPK Linz

Both test license owners
However, the BMW was not the only vehicle that was confiscated that night. A North Macedonian (20) from Traun must also have been in a hurry. The police caught him at 154 km/h in the same place, and in his case there was also another person in the car. Dad's Mercedes is now with a towing service until the Linz police department has decided what to do with the car. In any case, both speeders had to surrender their probationary driving licenses and will also face heavy fines.

Mental maturity is crucial
"We have noticed that this extreme speeding is unfortunately a problem that is on the increase," says Chief Inspector Heinz Oberauer, Head of the Traffic Department at Linz Police. There are always fatal accidents in which young drivers are overtaxed by high-powered cars. However, in his opinion, a general horsepower limit for new drivers would not reliably solve the problem. "It always depends on the maturity of the driver," says Oberauer.

Law has been in force for a year
Since March 1, 2024, a vehicle can be confiscated and subsequently auctioned off if the speed limit exceeds 80 km/h in urban areas and 90 km/h outside urban areas. In Austria, three cars have been auctioned off so far, and a fourth could follow soon.

Kommentar

Entscheidend ist, wer hinter dem Steuer sitzt

Vehicles have repeatedly made the headlines recently because they have been used as weapons. The perpetrators of the rampages in Mannheim and Munich both used small cars. Which goes to show: It is not the degree of motorization or the brand that matters, but only who is behind the wheel.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel, adobe.stock.com, Krone KREATIV)

Someone speeding through a 70 km/h zone at 191 or 154 km/h is not necessarily a sign of mental maturity. It is safe to say that the cars in the hands of these drivers become weapons. Confiscations are certainly painful, but one should also take a very close look at the psyche of the drivers.