Car is confiscated

Speeder must pay, even if he gets his BMW back

This VW Passat was the first speeding car to be auctioned in Upper Austria.

(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

Following the two provisional vehicle confiscations on Sunday, investigations are now underway into what will happen to the cars of extreme speeders. The law, which has been in force since March of last year, is still causing lively debate.

There was a premiere on Sunday: for the first time in Upper Austria, two cars belonging to extreme speeders were provisionally impounded in one day, as reported. This legal possibility, which has been in force since March of last year, continues to cause a lot of excitement: The report on krone.at was commented on 150 times. For most users, the now stricter paragraphs are still too lax. "You can't achieve anything with temporary confiscation," writes one reader.

The next two weeks will decide whether the provisional seizures will soon become permanent seizures, including forced auctions. The authorities have that long to examine the cases.

Speeding driver must pay fine and towing costs
Such as the Serbian (36) who sped through a construction site on the Innkreis freeway at 161 km/h in his BMW on Sunday. "Two conditions must be checked: Is the driver also the owner of the vehicle? And has he had his driving license revoked for speeding in the last four years?" explains Jürgen Oswald from the responsible district authority of Wels-Land.

But even if the speeding driver gets his BMW back, it will be expensive for him: in addition to a fine of around 1000 euros, he will also have to pay the towing costs.