Large rent-a-car price gaps disclosed

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Business

Holidaymakers intending to rent a car have been urged to book online and in advance. The Upper Austrian department of the Federal Labour Chamber (AK) said today (Thurs) people could save up to 15 per cent if they reserved the vehicles on the internet and paid by credit card before starting their holidays. The AK […]

Czech collared over cannabis transfer

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General News

A Czech man has been arrested after traffic policemen discovered dozens of marijuana plants in his car during a traffic check in Lower Austria.Officers found 83 hashish seedlings in the boot of the 32-year-old’s vehicle during a campaign in which hundreds of drivers were checked on the A5 northern motorway yesterday afternoon (Weds).The man told […]

New speed cameras target foreign offenders

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General News

A new generation of radar traps has gone into operation.Road authorities said today (Fri) that they have begun setting up high-tech speed cameras on some of Austria’s busiest motorways.Motorway authority Asfinag explained that the new devices were already operating at the A21 Außenring motorway in Vienna, the A10 Tauern motorway in Salzburg and the S1 […]

Driver never had a licence

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General News

An Austrian who never took a driving test faces charges for breaching traffic rules after being caught behind the wheel on Sunday.Asked by traffic police for his licence in Ruhstorf an der Rott, Germany, near the Austrian border, the 51-year-old man admitted that he has never possessed one. Bavarian traffic officials contacted their colleagues in […]

More checks but fewer drink-driving penalties

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General News

Fewer drivers were charged for drink-driving last year than in 2009, it has been announced.The federal interior ministry, which is in charge of Austria’s police units, said today (Fri) that 37,519 drunken drivers were fined or reported to prosecutors in 2010. The ministry said that more than 41,100 drivers were caught breaching the Austrian legal […]

Diesel sales soar despite price hike

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Business

Austrians bought more diesel fuel in 2010 while the demand for regular car petrol declined year on year.The Federal Mineral Oil Association FVMI announced today (Tues) that Austrian petrol stations and industrial petrol providers sold 7.3 billion litres of diesel petrol in 2010, 3.7 per cent more than the year before. The association also said […]

Prosecutor appeals jail term verdict for taxi robber

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General News

Prosecutors have called for tougher punishments after a court in Vienna sentenced a man to more than seven years in jail for robbing three cab drivers.The unemployed man, who amassed debts with a gambling addiction, threatened taxi drivers with a knife or punched them in the face close in the night-time incidents last summer. He […]

‘Crazy’ speed camera flashes all drivers

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General News

Red-faced police in Salzburg have admitted a speed camera has flashed every driver regardless of the speed they were going for several hours.Motorway officials announced today (Weds) a radar trap took a picture of every car going on the A10 Tauern motorway on Monday for four hours due to a technical malfunction.Autobahn workers were eventually […]

Number of towed cars down slightly in Vienna

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General News

More than 1,000 cars were hauled away in Vienna over the past four weekends, it has been announced.Drivers union ÖAMTC said today (Mon) 1,042 illegally parked vehicles were towed away in the capital on the past four Saturdays and Sundays when hundreds of thousands of Austrians and foreigners came to Vienna to do their Christmas […]

More snow ahead for Austria

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General News

Vast parts of Austria must brace themselves for more snow, it has been announced.Weather forecasts from today (Thurs) show that the whole west of the country will be hit by intensive snowfall from tomorrow morning. Conditions in the eastern flatlands will, however, be mostly dry and sunny. Traffic in the east was especially badly affected […]