Diplomats ignore most traffic fines

Diplomats failed to pay more than 2,000 traffic fines across Austria last year, it has emerged.A parliamentary enquiry by Freedom Party (FPÖ) MP Martin Graf forced the office of People’s Party (ÖVP) Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger to reveal that two thirds of the 2,400 fines for various breaches of traffic rules by diplomats went unpaid in 2010.Viennese newspaper Heute also reports today (Thurs) that diplomats do not pay around 10,000 parking tickets in Vienna per year by referring to their privileged status.Thousands of diplomats live and work in Vienna. International organisations like the United Nations (UN) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have their headquarters or offices in the city.