Excitement among speeders

Now 17-year-old’s car is being auctioned off!

A 17-year-old from Salzburg has to say goodbye to his car. In August, he was flashed at 192 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the A1 near Ansfeld (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Dimitri Metz)

A 20-year-old from Vienna no longer understands the world. His brand new BMW is soon to be auctioned off after he was caught speeding at 81 km/h in April - as reported by the "Krone" newspaper. The same now applies to a 17-year-old from Salzburg! His car will be put up for auction at the Dorotheum in November ...

Of the 133 vehicles that have been provisionally taken away so far, 13 Austrians will never see their cars again. One driver has already had to watch his beloved Peugot 208 being auctioned off for 6800 euros on October 2. The driver had been traveling at 153 km/h in an 80 km/h zone outside of town in Vorarlberg, exceeding the speed limit by 73 km/h.

The Peugot 208 was auctioned off on October 2 for 6800 euros. It was the first speeding car to go under the hammer.

(Bild: Dorotheum)

Now a 17-year-old teenager from Flachgau in Salzburg has to share the same fate: In August, he was clocked at 192 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the A1 near Ansfeld. His VW Passat will be released for online auction in November. A spokeswoman for the Dorotheum auction house confirmed this to the "Krone" newspaper. The starting price for the car with 116 hp is 400 euros. 

Two trial owners lose car at once
Shocking when you consider that the 17-year-old is also a trial certificate owner. Last week, the "Krone" had already reported on a 20-year-old Viennese who had to say goodbye to his BMW. He was also in possession of a probationary license and also had to undergo additional training. The young man had invested thousands of euros to fight against the decision made by the administrative court. But in vain. The car will be auctioned off. Dorotheum cannot yet say when this will happen. 

Even begging won't get the car back
The effectiveness of the measure, which came into force in March, has been widely debated since March. The ÖAMTC also expressed legal concerns in a statement in February of this year: "On the one hand, there are no studies that show that harsher penalties are more of a deterrent than lower ones. In addition, such drastic encroachments on property should be decided by criminal courts and not by administrative authorities," explained ÖAMTC lawyer Matthias Wolf at the time. 

On the one hand, there are no studies that show that harsher penalties are more of a deterrent than lower ones.

Matthias Wolf

Lawyer Robert Lattermann, who is representing the 20-year-old Viennese, also questioned the drastic encroachment on property in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper. The young speeding driver had previously signed a debt agreement with his father in which it was stipulated in writing that "the car would only become the full property of the 20-year-old once the 30,000 euros had been paid out", according to Lattermann. However, this fact was not enough for the competent judge - he ruled in favor of the purchase agreement, in which the young Viennese is listed as the owner. 

Complaint filed with the administrative court
It was only on Wednesday that Lattermann represented the 20-year-old car driver in court after he lodged an appeal against the Administrative Court's ruling - which was rejected.

As this law is new, it would have been interesting to see how the highest court in Austria would have ruled.

Rechtsanwalt Robert Lattermann

The young man could also appeal here and turn to the next higher instance - the Administrative Court. "As this law is new, it would have been interesting to see how the highest instance in Austria would have ruled," explains Lattermann. However, the lawyer advised the young Viennese not to do so. After all, if the 20-year-old is turned down again, he would have to pay the entire legal and administrative costs. These amount to a total of around 40,000 euros (including the value of the BMW).