At first, Austrian driving appears to be not much different than in the US, but upon more careful inspection, subtle but extremely important differences appear. Austrians are astonished and appalled at the lack of driver training required of Americans. The following short diatribe serves as a condensed "training" to overcome this obstacle.
1) Measurements - It may seem redundant to point out, but important to note, that in Austria everything is metric. Driving involves thinking in meters, kilometers, and Kmh (kilometers per hour (don't know why they insist on using "hour" rather than "stunde").
Speed limit signs occur often, and at frequent intervals. Beware! You may see a series of 120, 100, 80, and 50 Kmh signs in quick succession, less than 100 meters apart from each other. These tend to be associated with a "photocop" camera.
My personal favorite speed limit sign is our neighborhood customized one:
Several unwritten rules are important to note. Austria apparently has a maximum unposted freeway speed of 130, unless they post another speed, which could be 140, or 100, or 80, or an IG-L (a reduced speed designation claiming to reduce pollution).
Beware, some speed limit signs may be painted on the road.
Apparently, unposted local highway speed limits are 100, but could be 70 depending on the curviness of the road. Curvy roads usually have "<" signs in red. When they are accompanied with yellow backgrounds you know they mean "seriously curvy."
Unposted in-town speed limit is 50, unless the road is really narrow, in which case it may be 30. These 30 limits tend to be spray painted on the road. Be on the lookout for cross walks. These also tend to be associated with a "photo cop" camera.
2) Every sign matters! Don't take your eyes off the road! You will definitely get lost, or drive around in circles unless you become an expert sign reader. Within cities, many streets are one-way. Roads are never straight, and they love signage.
3) Lines on the road are extremely important indicators. Arrows tell you which direction your lane may go. Solid lines mean do not cross. Dashed lines allow crossing. Driveways even have dashed lines in front of them.
Be wary of "angular dashed lines" which can mean stop or merge. These most often occur when a smaller road meets a larger road, but can appear in strange places like freeway off- or on-ramps. Nothing like flying off the autobahn doing 130 only to have a honking encounter because someone else feels they have the right of way on an off-ramp merge.
4) Yes, Round-Abouts! These are used extensively, to allow the flow of traffic through an intersection without much need to stop. These also tend to involve the use of the dreaded "angular dashed line." They range from tiny intersections in the middle of a dorf, where they may be painted on the road, to multi-lane 100 meter diameter circles with statues or trees in the middle.
5) Arrows are used extensively. The lane you are in may unexpectedly turn into a right or left turn only lane, indicated by an arrow. Lane merges are usually identified by squiggly lines.
6) The multi-lane unwritten rule - If a road has more than one lane going the same direction, the left lane is not intended to be driven in. These additional lanes exist so speed demons can pass their slower counterparts. If you think you can whiz along at 140 (exceeding the speed limit) in the left lane of the autobahn, think again! You will undoubtedly encounter someone rapidly bearing down on your rear, with headlights flashing, signaling "get out of my way!" Mercedes, Audi, or BMW drivers tend to be the primary culprits, but Seats or Scodas may also attempt this obnoxious behavior (not sure how they accomplish this feat).
7) Sidewalks are not really always sidewalks. They double as parking areas. Often a slight height difference in a cobblestone curve will indicate the sidewalk is now parallel parking. Often, anything goes when it comes to parking, just don't get caught!
8) Cars may be small, but so are roads. Let's see you get your car down this "little road."
So there you have it, not a complete training, but it will get you around a little more safely, or will it?
Gute Fahrt! (does not mean "good fart!)
1) Measurements - It may seem redundant to point out, but important to note, that in Austria everything is metric. Driving involves thinking in meters, kilometers, and Kmh (kilometers per hour (don't know why they insist on using "hour" rather than "stunde").
Speed limit signs are round, not rectangular. The limits at first seem extreme. Wow, I was flying down the Seestrasse going 80! Then you whip out your calculator, do the math, and realize that 80 Kmh is only 48 mph.
Speed limit signs occur often, and at frequent intervals. Beware! You may see a series of 120, 100, 80, and 50 Kmh signs in quick succession, less than 100 meters apart from each other. These tend to be associated with a "photocop" camera.
 |
| A dreaded roadside "Photo-cop" |
 |
| "Seriously! 50" |
Several unwritten rules are important to note. Austria apparently has a maximum unposted freeway speed of 130, unless they post another speed, which could be 140, or 100, or 80, or an IG-L (a reduced speed designation claiming to reduce pollution).
Beware, some speed limit signs may be painted on the road.
Apparently, unposted local highway speed limits are 100, but could be 70 depending on the curviness of the road. Curvy roads usually have "<" signs in red. When they are accompanied with yellow backgrounds you know they mean "seriously curvy."
Unposted in-town speed limit is 50, unless the road is really narrow, in which case it may be 30. These 30 limits tend to be spray painted on the road. Be on the lookout for cross walks. These also tend to be associated with a "photo cop" camera.
2) Every sign matters! Don't take your eyes off the road! You will definitely get lost, or drive around in circles unless you become an expert sign reader. Within cities, many streets are one-way. Roads are never straight, and they love signage.
3) Lines on the road are extremely important indicators. Arrows tell you which direction your lane may go. Solid lines mean do not cross. Dashed lines allow crossing. Driveways even have dashed lines in front of them.
Be wary of "angular dashed lines" which can mean stop or merge. These most often occur when a smaller road meets a larger road, but can appear in strange places like freeway off- or on-ramps. Nothing like flying off the autobahn doing 130 only to have a honking encounter because someone else feels they have the right of way on an off-ramp merge.
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| A small "Round-About" complete with a round version of the dreaded "angular dashed lines" |
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| A not-so-round "round-about,"complete with trees, bushes, landscaping, and statue |
6) The multi-lane unwritten rule - If a road has more than one lane going the same direction, the left lane is not intended to be driven in. These additional lanes exist so speed demons can pass their slower counterparts. If you think you can whiz along at 140 (exceeding the speed limit) in the left lane of the autobahn, think again! You will undoubtedly encounter someone rapidly bearing down on your rear, with headlights flashing, signaling "get out of my way!" Mercedes, Audi, or BMW drivers tend to be the primary culprits, but Seats or Scodas may also attempt this obnoxious behavior (not sure how they accomplish this feat).
7) Sidewalks are not really always sidewalks. They double as parking areas. Often a slight height difference in a cobblestone curve will indicate the sidewalk is now parallel parking. Often, anything goes when it comes to parking, just don't get caught!
 |
| Note the slight height difference between the road and the cobblestones, denoting this sidewalk is also a parking lot. |
8) Cars may be small, but so are roads. Let's see you get your car down this "little road."
So there you have it, not a complete training, but it will get you around a little more safely, or will it?
Gute Fahrt! (does not mean "good fart!)
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