Austria has made a few changes to its Motor Vehicles Act for 2022, and they are significant enough for the British Motorcyclists' Federation to warn everyone about them. As you may be aware, Austria is a popular holiday destination for European motorcyclists due to its beautiful scenery and mountain passes.
The most famous road of this kind would be the Grossglockner Mountain pass, which is the highest of its kind in the country. Well, you should be informed that if you go out and ride your motorcycle in Austria, or if you rent one locally, all its wheels must be in contact with the road surface at all times.
In other words, wheelies and stoppies are “verboten” (that means forbidden in German) in Austria, and getting caught doing either of them will result in a fine that starts at EUR 300 (ca. $320), but may get up to EUR 10,000 (ca. $10,700).
But that is not all, as the police officers will be able to decide if a driver or a rider is likely to get at it once they are out of sight, and they can order your motorcycle or your car impounded for up to 72 hours.
We do not know about you, but the risk of getting a fine of $10k, as well as the possibility of getting your vehicle impounded for up to three days will eliminate any desire of attempting wheelies, stoppies, burnouts, donuts, and even drifting on public roads in Austria.
In other words, if a wheel stops being in contact with the road surface, is locked up (like in a handbrake turn), or spinning too much while generating smoke, the driver of the vehicle that is seen doing so will get a fine from Austrian police officers.
Yes, you read that right, burnouts, donuts, and drifting are also punishable by comparable fines in Austria because of the changes in the law, BMF notes. Cars can be impounded just like motorcycles can, so do not go crazy on your next visit to the annual Worthersee event. You have been warned.
In comparison, Australia, a country that is sometimes confused with Austria (and vice versa), also has legislation against such acts since 2009.
The goal of those laws is to reduce the number of accidents on the road, and police can impound or immobilize a vehicle for up to 90 days, or even confiscate it permanently, if its driver has severely or repeatedly broken the hoon law. You can watch a video explaining hoon laws in Australia just below.
Editor's note:
For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows Masaru Abe while breaking the wheelie world record, as well as from Dougie Lampkin's wheelie record. Abe's attempt was done on a closed road, and in controlled conditions, which would make it legal even in Austria or Australia if they were organized in the same manner. The same can be said about Dougie Lampkin's wheelies, as seen in the photo gallery.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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