SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

DRIVING

The six ways you can lose your driving licence in Austria

From drink-driving to dangerous tailgating, these are the offences that can lose you your license in Austria.

A car drives fast along a country road.
A car drives fast along a country road. Photo: JESHOOTS.com/Pexels

Speeding

Most Austrian motorways have a speed limit of 130 km/h, though, on some open roads, a lower limit of 100 km/h applies. The speed limit for built-up areas (such as main roads in towns and cities) is generally 50 km/h.

In order to get your license revoked for speeding, you need to be driving at a dangerously high speed and the higher the velocity, the longer you’ll lose your license for:

  • Exceeding the speed limit by 40 km/h in a built-up area or by 50 km/h on a highway comes with a driving ban of two weeks
  • Driving 60 km/h over the speed limit in a built-up area or 70 km/h on a highway can result in a 6-week driving ban
  • Exceeding the speed limit by 80 km/h in a built-up area or by 90 km/h on an open road will result in a ban of at least three months
  • Driving 90 km/h over the speed limit in a built-up area or 100 km/h on a highway can result in a ban of at least six months

Exceeding the speed limit in front of schools, kindergartens or cyclist crossings by more than 20km/h can also get you a six-month ban.

Driving under the influence

In Austria, having an alcohol level of more than 0.5 (50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood) counts as drink-driving -the same as in neighbouring countries Germany and Italy. 

Drinkers toast with beer glasses. Photo: ELEVATE/Pexels

To lose your license through drink-driving, you need to be caught with an alcohol level of at least 0.8 – which will land you a ban of at least one month.

An alcohol level of 1.2 carries a ban of at least four months while driving with a blood-alcohol level of at least 1.6 or refusing to take a breathalyser test can result in a driving ban of at least six months, as a refusal to be tested is always considered as heavy drinking.

Getting behind the wheel while high on drugs will also land you with at least a one-month ban.

Dangerous and irresponsible driving

As well as speeding and drinking under the influence, there are several other reckless driving behaviours that can get you banned.

Aggressive tailgating – or failing to keep a distance of at least 0.2 seconds (e.g. less than 7 metres at 130 km/h) can lead to a driving suspension of at least six months.

READ ALSO: Reader question: Do I need an international permit to drive in Austria?

Failing to stop immediately or to provide the necessary assistance after a road traffic accident can result in a three-month ban.

Ignoring overtaking bans or overtaking in poor visibility, as well as participating in unauthorised road races all come with six-month bans.

Losing your driving license abroad

If your driving license is confiscated while travelling abroad, the ban generally only applies in the country in question. However, if the Austrian authorities subsequently find out about the ban, and if the offence committed abroad also comes with a license suspension in Austria, the authorities will take away your license in Austria, too. 

Criminal Offences

You don’t need to commit an offence behind the wheel to have your license suspended, sometimes any serious offence will be enough.

A gavel is banged in a courtoom. Photo: EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA/ Pexels

If you, for instance, commit a serious bodily assault, get convicted of serious drug crimes, or even robbery, this can be grounds for suspending your driving license. 

Repeat offenders

When any of the above offences are repeated, they can come with longer driving bans the second time around or even a permanent driving suspension.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What are the rules on winter and summer tyres in Austria?

For drink-driving, offences are considered to be repeat offences when committed within a five-year time period following the initial offence. Speeding and other dangerous driving offences, meanwhile, will carry more weight if repeated within a four-year period.

You can find a list of repeat offences that can get you banned under offences named Wiederholungsfall (repeated case) here.

How do I get my driving license back?

Once the time period of the driving suspension has passed, you can make an application to have your license reinstated. You can find the relevant form here

Depending on the offence that resulted in the ban, you may also be required to complete follow-up training, traffic-psychology coaching or get a medical report on your fitness to drive.

If the driving licence has been revoked for more than 18 months, then you have to take the driving test again.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

DRIVING

EU lawmakers slam brakes on plan for medical exams for all drivers

EU lawmakers on Wednesday put the brakes on plans to force drivers to pass medical exams to keep their licences, although they backed bringing in digital permits.

EU lawmakers slam brakes on plan for medical exams for all drivers

Supporters of medical testing argued it would help cut deaths on the European Union’s roads, where currently 20,000 people die each year and another 160,000 are seriously injured.

But instead lawmakers rejected it and left it up to the 27 member states to decide whether to make health check-ups a requirement to keep one’s licence.

Currently 14 EU states have compulsory medical exams, including Italy and Portugal, but not France or Germany where the proposal sparked an outcry.

Green lawmaker Karima Delli, who pushed the text through parliament, hit out at what she called “misleading arguments” and “disinformation” on the issue.

Despite France’s opposition, she said “a majority of elected French officials” in the parliament supported medical checks, and urged Paris to introduce national rules.

The EU reforms are part of a road safety package aimed at halving deaths and injuries on European roads by 2030.

The parliament will soon enter negotiations on the draft text with EU states, after which the rules will be formally approved and enter into force.

The expectation is that formal adoption will come later this year.

Under the new rules, the EU will introduce bloc-wide digital driving licences, accessible via a smartphone and with the same value as a physical permit.

SHOW COMMENTS