Anyone traveling to Austria by car often relies on the usual blue parking disc from Germany. But in our neighboring country this can quickly become an expensive problem.
If you drive a car in Austria and only have a German parking disc with you, you could quickly regret it. The background is that in our neighboring country it acts as a clearly regulated monitoring instrument for short-term parking zones with its own formal requirements. They are in the Short-Term Parking Zone Monitoring Ordinance (KÜV) set.
This mainly concerns the different timing. While German parking discs show the time in half-hour increments and is rounded to the nearest half hour when setting, The Austrian Short-Term Parking Zone Monitoring Ordinance prescribes quarter-hour increments.
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Parking with the wrong parking disc can be expensive
A disc with only a half-hour scale, as is common in Germany, does not meet the KÜV requirements and is legally treated as if you had not displayed a valid parking disc at all. Especially in heavily frequented regions, the authorities consistently check whether a parking disc complies with Austrian requirements, regardless of whether the vehicle is registered in Austria or abroad.
Anyone who is caught with the wrong parking disc in Austria can expect severe penalties. A first Violations usually cost between 21 and 36 euros. If you don’t pay or you’ve been caught again, according to the Austrian automobile club ÖAMTC even result in administrative criminal proceedings. Then there is a risk of a fine of up to 726 euros.
This is what the parking disc in Austria should look like
According to the KÜV, the parking disc must correspond to the model provided for in the regulation. It must have a circular dial with a minimum diameter of ten centimeters, which is intended to ensure that the displayed time can be read from the outside. The background of the dial must be in a light color, while the numbers and hands must be dark to ensure sufficient contrast.
The parking disc is used exclusively to display the arrival time of the vehicle in a short-term parking zone. This can be set to the next full quarter of an hour after the actual arrival time; rounding down is not permitted.
You must place the parking disc clearly visible behind the windshield so that the control authorities can clearly see the set time. The regulation also stipulates that older design parking discs may continue to be used provided they meet the basic requirements and clearly indicate the relevant arrival time. The aim of these regulations is to ensure that short-term parking zone monitoring is handled in a uniform, easily verifiable and understandable way for all road users.
Electronic parking discs are also prohibited
In addition, only analogue parking discs are permitted in Austria. Electronic parking discswhich are accepted and popular in many places in Germany, are expressly not permitted in Austria. Digital displays, automatic switching or other convenient functions of modern e-parking discs are simply not legally covered. As a result, these advertisements in Austrian traffic are equated with the absence of a parking disc.
If you travel to Austria regularly, it is worth buying an Austrian-compliant parking disc. This is available in many gas stations and shops near the border, rarely also onlineavailable. Pay particular attention to the quarter-hour marking; many dealers advertise their parking discs for use throughout Europe. However, this is not a guarantee for you. Alternatively, you can also use the one provided by the Austrian automobile club ÖAMTC for one-time use Parking meter printout use it and enter your arrival time on site.
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