100 CultureShock! Austria
Demerit Points System
On 1 July 2005, the Austrian government instituted a system
for recording driving offences. The first offence will be
recorded in the local driving licence register for two years.
The second offence requires some type of action, such as a
driving course. The third offence results in your licence being
suspended for at least three months.Parking
You can park your car on the street either in or against the
flow of traffic. This can be handy if you are in a hurry and
don’t want to make a U-turn to get in the right direction.
Limited parking zones (blue zones) allow you to park for
1½to 3 hours. Read all parking signs. In some cities, such as
Vienna, Graz, Linz, Klagenfurt and Innsbruck, there is a charge
for parking. You either buy parking vouchers from a Tabak,
or display the receipt you get from a coin-operated machine
located nearby (only in some parking areas). If you are parking
for ten minutes or less, you can get the required vouchers at
Tabaks, banks, hotels and some gas stations. Whatever your
situation, display the vouchers or receipts clearly on the inside
of the windscreen or risk getting a parking ticket.PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
If you live in a major city, having your own car is not a
necessity as Austria’s public transportation system is one
of the best in Europe. It is safe, clean, reliable, reasonably
priced, and, surprisingly enough in this day and age, practises
the honour system.Variety of Public Transportation
In Austria, you can ride the underground (U-Bahn, found
only in Vienna), buses, trams (Strassenbahn) and quick train
(Schnellbahn, only in Vienna and its surrounding zones). The
underground and bus systems are reliable, quick and easy
to figure out. There are also night buses, available only on
weekends after midnight. Old trams, though reliable, are
slow and inconvenient for the handicapped or people with
strollers. New trams are lower to the ground, making access