Brenner Pass - Non-Motorway road

[Braunston]

I actually thought it was a terrible, I know other people like the place but I certainly don't and won't be heading back there in a hurry, so its all yours , enjoy

w h a t ? ? ?

 

[violet]

A good few years ago we had a most unpleasant experience on an Austrian motorway, which we hadn't intended to take in the first place but couldn't find the other road. We detoured from the Czech Republic and came through the border with no signs at all re vignettes and ended up just on the autoroute. We were then pursued by a police motorcyclist who flagged us off the autoroute into a secluded layby and proceeded to demand huge sums of money, hand on his gun. It was quite intimidating as he was large, shaven-headed and in full leathers. I took time to read what I could of the paperwork he thrust at it and made out that the fine was equivalent to about £50,much less than he originally indicated. We said we had no Austrian money so he demanded sterling or dollars. When we said we only had Polish and Czech cash he stamped on the ground, and shouted 'Rubbish rubbish".
My husband then brought out a credit card. The policeman immediately went to his vehicle and made a phone call. We reckon he was just phoning around the corner as within a minute a police car arrived with 4 policemen and a machine for taking payment from a credit card. They clearly had it all worked out, we think down to the lack of any signs about vignettes at the border.
i am sure things will be different now but we did not return to Austria for a long time, and even then it is just to travel through from Budapest. We may have been fined £50 but the Austria tourist industry over the years since have lost many times that sum.
Violet

 

[Braunston]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your experiences

I must admit it was only from reading information on sites like this that I even realised that you needed to purchase anything before traveling on roads in any country we have visited, but it appears Austria and Switzerland (perhaps others we have not visited yet) both operate a different system than appears the rest of Europe.

My expectation was the same as happens in France, Spain or on the M6 toll, Dartford Crossing etc that you would be confronted by a toll booth where you either paid or picked up a ticket and paid at a toll booth at the end of your journey.

I suppose their argument would be that you need to take what ever action necessary to find out about the road laws in any country before crossing there boarder. I know it wasn't that obvious on entering Austria that anything different needed to be done, albeit I was already prepared as said above so were actively looking for signs regarding Vignette or Go Box etc, I think if I hadn't been aware I could easily have missed the signs.

But just to add it was very easy to follow the non toll (non-motorway) route through Austria at the entrance to one "pass" it clearly indicated that this pass did not require a Vignette before using it, hope that helps.

A good few years ago we had a most unpleasant experience on an Austrian motorway, which we hadn't intended to take in the first place but couldn't find the other road. We detoured from the Czech Republic and came through the border with no signs at all re vignettes and ended up just on the autoroute. We were then pursued by a police motorcyclist who flagged us off the autoroute into a secluded layby and proceeded to demand huge sums of money, hand on his gun. It was quite intimidating as he was large, shaven-headed and in full leathers. I took time to read what I could of the paperwork he thrust at it and made out that the fine was equivalent to about £50,much less than he originally indicated. We said we had no Austrian money so he demanded sterling or dollars. When we said we only had Polish and Czech cash he stamped on the ground, and shouted 'Rubbish rubbish".
My husband then brought out a credit card. The policeman immediately went to his vehicle and made a phone call. We reckon he was just phoning around the corner as within a minute a police car arrived with 4 policemen and a machine for taking payment from a credit card. They clearly had it all worked out, we think down to the lack of any signs about vignettes at the border.
i am sure things will be different now but we did not return to Austria for a long time, and even then it is just to travel through from Budapest. We may have been fined £50 but the Austria tourist industry over the years since have lost many times that sum.
Violet

 

[hilldweller]

I actually thought it was a terrible, I know other people like the place but I certainly don't and won't be heading back there in a hurry, so its all yours , enjoy

That's interesting.

We, personally, never feel at home in Spain others love it. It just goes to show how different people can be, which is how it should be despite the best efforts of the EU to homogenise everything.