Anyone who exceeds the speed limit recklessly and dangerously can have their car removed from March 2024 and eventually the vehicle will also be auctioned. The corresponding package was decided on Wednesday in the Council of Ministers, it was announced last year.
According to the accompanying parliamentary decision, from March 1, 2024, the car of extreme speeders can be confiscated on the spot, said transport minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) after the government meeting in the press lounge. It’s not about people who travel too fast for once, but about “a few incorrigible, ruthless offenders,” Gewessler emphasized.
“The car becomes a weapon”
The agreed package was aimed at serious offenses and speeding of more than 60 km/h in built-up areas and 70 km/h outside built-up areas. “At this rate, the car becomes a weapon,” said the minister: “Anyone who uses their car as a weapon, we will take their weapon away.” immediately for up to two weeks.
If individuals “completely incorrigible” repeatedly drive at excessive speeds, after confiscation at the end of the process, it can lead to “forfeiture without replacement”: the speeding car is then permanently removed and auctioned.
Permanent driving ban on someone else’s car
If the car with which the speeding offense was committed does not belong to the driver, a driving ban will apply instead of confiscation. This means that the driver is permanently prohibited from using the vehicle in question. This also applies to the owners: they are no longer allowed to leave the vehicle to the person concerned.
In addition, an amendment to the driving license law is planned: in the event of mass speeding, drivers must certainly have their driving license taken away on the spot – this should apply from October. The limit here is an exceedance of more than 40 km/h in the area and 50 km/h outside. Currently, the acceptance of the driver’s license is a discretionary decision of the intervening officer.
“Steps Against the Unteachable”
With these measures, which follow the example of other European countries, “comprehensive measures are now being taken against inveterate repeat offenders and reckless behavior,” said Transport Minister Gewessler. She referred to the 142 fatalities that have already occurred in 2023 – every single case is unbearable and one too many, she stressed. If you drive your car at 130 km/h through built-up areas, you have no control over your vehicle. “It is life-threatening. It must be stopped,” says Gewessler.
Source: Krone
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