Premiere in Austria

First speeding car auctioned off online

Since March, 133 vehicles have been confiscated, 13 of them by the authorities - now the first has been auctioned off.

(Bild: Screenshot/dorotheum.com)

Time and again, the headlines are taken up by speeders driving at high speeds through towns and cities in Austria. A week ago, the first auction of a speeding car took place via an online auction in Vorarlberg.

In Austria, the government has taken decisive steps to tackle the problem of extreme speeding on the roads. Since March 1, 2024, speeding vehicles can not only be confiscated, but also auctioned off in serious cases.

Vehicle was considered "severely damaged"
This case has now occurred for the first time in Vorarlberg. As reported by "Der Standard", a Peugeot 208 was auctioned off via the Dorotheum auction house as part of a large online auction. Since March, a total of 133 vehicles have been confiscated, 13 of which were permanently confiscated by official measures.

The auctioned Peugeot 208 from 2018 with 110 hp could hardly be described as a high-performance vehicle. The vehicle was apparently in a clearly impaired condition, described as "heavily used", "damaged" and "in need of extensive repairs". At the auction, the bidding started at 2000 euros, with the final hammer falling on October 2 for 6800 euros.

30 percent of the proceeds to the federal state
The distribution of proceeds follows a fixed formula: 70 percent goes to the Austrian Road Safety Fund, which reports to the Ministry of Transport. The remaining 30 percent goes to the regional authority responsible for the criminal proceedings - in this case the federal state of Vorarlberg.

There is a long process before vehicles are auctioned off. Cars are first provisionally seized and then confiscated by the authorities. Forfeiture proceedings are initiated once the administrative criminal proceedings have been concluded. Only after the decision to confiscate the vehicle becomes legally binding can the auction be carried out. This sequence ensures that all legal steps have been duly completed before the vehicle is released for auction.