Twice as high

Standardized Fines: Here’s How Much Illegal Parking Will Cost

Anyone caught parking illegally next year will have to pay double the fine.(Bild: Helmut Klein)

In the future, it won’t matter whether you park illegally in Vienna, Salzburg, or here in Upper Austria. Starting January 1, 2027, automated parking tickets will be issued at a uniform rate throughout Austria. The “Krone” has a few examples of exactly what this means for local drivers.

The amendment places particular emphasis on significantly higher penalty ranges for substantial speeding violations. “Until now, each federal state has set its own penalty amounts. This resulted in a west-east disparity. Offenses were most expensive in Vorarlberg. Upper Austria ranks in the middle not only geographically but also in terms of fines,” explains Stefan Dahedl, a lawyer at ÖAMTC Upper Austria. 

Multi-Page Penalty Catalog
However, since the new multi-page catalog of fines—penalty notices are not affected by the legislative change—is based on the highest existing state-level fine in each case, it will become noticeably more expensive for us Upper Austrians.

It is hard to understand why there should be significant increases—up to double the current amounts.

Wolfgang Schneckenreither, Verkehrsspartenobmann Wirtschaftskammer OÖ

“Standardization is fundamentally appropriate. However, it is hard to understand why, at the same time, there should be significant increases in penalty rates—up to double the current amounts. The legal purpose of traffic fines is to guide road users toward proper behavior, not to maximize government revenue,” criticizes Wolfgang Schneckenreither, chairman of the WKOÖ’s transportation division.

On average, 50 percent more expensive
Starting next year, anyone who exceeds the parking time limit in a short-term parking zone, sets the parking meter incorrectly, or fails to display the parking ticket properly will face a fine of 60 euros—currently, the fine is exactly half that amount. The fine for exceeding the speed limit by up to 10 km/h will also double. In that case as well, drivers will have to pay 60 euros in the future—instead of the current 30.

Until now, each federal state has set its own fine amounts, with Upper Austria falling in the middle range.

Stefan Dahedl, Jurist beim ÖAMTC Oberösterreich

It will also cost more to drive on a sidewalk without permission or to park there illegally—80 euros instead of 40. According to the ÖAMTC, on average, all traffic fines will increase by 50 percent.