The Dorotheum auction house is affectionately known as the “Pfandl” in the Viennese vernacular. Everything from Renaissance paintings to imperial underwear has been auctioned there. Also cars: For example, a 1938 Jaguar will soon be up for auction. However, the deposit, which was silvered at the beginning of October, was a novelty. It was a Peugeot “in need of thorough overhaul or repair, with no guarantee for traffic and operational safety”. The car fetched at least 6,800 euros in the online auction, not bad considering a starting price of 2,000 euros. This is the first time that a vehicle has been sold in this way in Austria, which was confiscated by the authorities because its owner had significantly exceeded the speed limit. The Viennese newspaper “Der Standard” was the first to report on it. The amendment to the road traffic regulations, which provides for this sanction in Austria, has been in effect since March. Permanent confiscation of cars under certain conditions is also possible in other European countries, for example in Poland for driving with a very high blood alcohol content, in Denmark for “crazy driving” and of course in strict Switzerland. In Germany, this can happen with illegal racing in traffic if a court decides accordingly. Deterrent effect In Austria, however, it is an administrative decision that has recently been implemented for the first time. If someone is clocked at 80 kilometers per hour too much in a local area or at 90 miles per hour outside of town, the police can immediately impound the vehicle for two weeks. If the driver has relevant traffic convictions, this applies to speeds exceeding 60 or 70 kilometers per hour. Then it is determined who owns the vehicle. It can only be confiscated permanently if the perpetrator is also the owner (this restriction does not exist in Switzerland). To ensure that the person caught does not resell their car at lightning speed and thereby avoid the penalty, only the authorities can dispose of it once it is confiscated. Of course, the law also applies to foreigners, but so far no case has been reported in which it would have affected a German, for example. This interference with property rights is justified on the one hand by the deterrent effect of the sanction – “special and general preventive reasons”, that is it in the explanations to the law. However, the focus is on the aspect of public safety: “In particular, when exceeding the speed limit, the danger potential is so high that the vehicle can be used like a weapon and this can therefore pose an immense danger to the life and limb of other road users. To do justice to this circumstance requires certain procedural deviations from the general regulations of the Administrative Offenses Act.” 133 vehicles have been temporarily confiscated since March. The Board of Trustees for Road Safety wanted to have measured a positive effect of the law as early as June. As a result, there have never been as few traffic deaths in Austria in the first half of the year as in 2024. Extrapolated, 342 traffic deaths are expected by the end of the year. In 2023 there were 396, the year before that there were 370. Accidents due to improper speed had fallen by 57 percent. “The fear of losing the status symbol of a car could have had a deterrent effect,” said a statement from the association, which was founded 65 years ago by insurance companies and the ÖAMTC automobile club. Incidentally, the ÖAMTC was one of the critics of the law.More on the topicAccording to “Standard”, 133 vehicles have been temporarily confiscated since March. Within 14 days, it will be checked whether the requirements for permanent confiscation have been met, i.e. whether the driver owns the vehicle or whether it is a borrowed or leased car. It is also checked whether the speed measurement was carried out correctly. In most cases, the cars had to be returned; All that can then be done is to enter a driving ban for the perpetrator in the vehicle documents for this vehicle. As a result, 13 cars and motorcycles were permanently accepted in Austria. The “Pfandl” can therefore expect further orders.
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