Photo: Photo by Andrew Teoh on Unsplash
Speeding is one of the main causes of car crashes and governments are dealing with it in different ways. Now Austrian authorities decided to apply stringent laws on drivers guilty of extreme speeding: the government can seize and auction off their cars.
This new measure is seeking to "deter boy racers" by threatening to take away their prized possessions, Reuters reports.
The upcoming change in legislation is aimed at toughening Austria's rules, making them similar to those applying in neighboring countries such as Germany and Switzerland. For a long time, local authorities have tried to keep illegal street races and extreme speeding under control.
"At the speeds we are talking about here, no one is fully in control of their vehicle. The car becomes an uncontrollable weapon and a danger to completely innocent people," Minister of Transport Leonore Gewessler told in a news conference regarding the upcoming plan.
According to the government, the upcoming legislation stipulates that those who are guilty extreme speeding can lose their cars for up to two weeks.
That means that if a car goes 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph) over the speed limit in towns, where the accepted speed is generally up to 50 kph (31 mph), or over 70 kph (44 mph) when the limit is of 130 kph (81 mph), they will have their car seized for up to two weeks.
If the driver is a repeat offender or is going particularly fast (over 80 kph / 50 mph in a town or 90 kph / 56 mph elsewhere), the car will be seized for good and auctioned off, Gewessler explained.
This new government plan is an additional measure to the one introduced last year, which increased the period of driver license suspension for speeding and extreme speeding.
"He who has no car anymore cannot speed anymore. That is precisely why this measure is so successful in other countries - because it hits where it hurts and protects the general population," Gewessler said, concluding that the measures were "though, but necessary."
The upcoming change in legislation is aimed at toughening Austria's rules, making them similar to those applying in neighboring countries such as Germany and Switzerland. For a long time, local authorities have tried to keep illegal street races and extreme speeding under control.
"At the speeds we are talking about here, no one is fully in control of their vehicle. The car becomes an uncontrollable weapon and a danger to completely innocent people," Minister of Transport Leonore Gewessler told in a news conference regarding the upcoming plan.
According to the government, the upcoming legislation stipulates that those who are guilty extreme speeding can lose their cars for up to two weeks.
That means that if a car goes 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph) over the speed limit in towns, where the accepted speed is generally up to 50 kph (31 mph), or over 70 kph (44 mph) when the limit is of 130 kph (81 mph), they will have their car seized for up to two weeks.
If the driver is a repeat offender or is going particularly fast (over 80 kph / 50 mph in a town or 90 kph / 56 mph elsewhere), the car will be seized for good and auctioned off, Gewessler explained.
This new government plan is an additional measure to the one introduced last year, which increased the period of driver license suspension for speeding and extreme speeding.
"He who has no car anymore cannot speed anymore. That is precisely why this measure is so successful in other countries - because it hits where it hurts and protects the general population," Gewessler said, concluding that the measures were "though, but necessary."
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