Quote:
Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie
It's the unfairness of ripping us off when we let Austrians use our roads for free that hurts and the hassle of having to stop to buy the thing. I noted last time you couldn't buy online in advance from the UK, they were trying to get you to buy their petrol too. The amount isn't important, it's the feeling of being ripped off. I will therefore spend my €4.50 in other countries if possible.
Nice pictures BTW, but they could be any of the Alpine or Nordic countries.
Andy
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Our roads are not comparable. Considering the road tax we pay they are in a shocking state. Also there are very few Austrians using UK roads. This is not a tit for tat thing. Every country is not the same. Austria is a small country that is bordered by many countries that use it to transit their goods and services. This puts an enormous strain on Austria's road system and thus has to be paid for. Compared to Switzerland where you can only buy an annual Vignette I actually think the Austrian system is a good one.
Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania also charge for a Vignette and the Balkan countries also charge for border insurance which is invariably more than €4.50. So it looks like you're going to have to do some big detours to avoid a few Euros
As for inconvenience you can buy the Austrian Vignettes in Germany a long way before you get to the border and you can also buy them online;
Vignette Austria
Often after a long run through Germany I stop, stretch my legs, get some fuel, have a bit to eat, get the Vignette and push on to my final destination. Hardly an inconvenience. Certainly easier than sorting road tax with the DVLA!
For more information on Vignette requirements across Europe see the link below.
Vignette (road tax) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Last edited by everywherevirtually; 25 Apr 2010 at 03:30.
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