READERS REVEAL: What are Austrian drivers' worst habits?
Hot on the heels of Austria increasing penalty amounts for certain traffic offences, we asked you what you thought the worst habits were on Austria's roads. From speeding to inconsiderate driving, here are readers' top pet peeves.
Failing to indicate
Failing to indicate is a pretty bad habit to get into and can definitely be considered as inconsiderate driving at best.
According to our readers, this practice is quite prevalent in Austria, with this taking the spot spot in our poll of Austrian drivers' worst habits.
Several readers, including both Rebecca from England, living in Styria and Graham from the UK, living in Salzburg, found drivers' failure to signal on or before roundabouts particularly irksome.
READ ALSO: The six ways you can lose your driving licence in Austria
Speeding
The national speed limit on most Austrian motorways is 130km/h with built-up area limits ranging from 30 – 50km/h.
But with the self-reported frequency of exceeding the speed limit in Austria one of the highest in Europe, according to a 2021 European Road Safety Observatory profile, it looks like some people might interpret those limits rather loosely.
The Local readers seem to agree – speeding came out in second place in the poll,
"Speeding down roads in Vienna districts crowded with children, dog-walkers, mothers with strollers and seniors is getting more common," said Paul in Vienna.
Tailgating
Tailgating – the irritating and potentially dangerous habit of driving too close behind another car – was also high up on readers' list of bugbears.
John from the UK, living in Maria Alm, chose this as Austrian drivers' worst habit in the poll.
"Austrian drivers seem unable to stay in line and must overtake at the earliest opportunity, hence the tailgating," he said.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about driving on the autobahn in Austria
Inconsiderate parking, not letting drivers out, running red lights
Readers found the other options in our multiple choice poll – inconsiderate parking, not letting other drivers out in traffic and running red lights – all equally annoying, the results showed.
A couple of respondents went even further, naming all of the choices (bar using the horn) as Austrian drivers' worst habits.
There are clearly a fair few bad practices on the Austrian roads as several readers chose different habits to those listed in the poll options.
Aggressive driving
Some cited aggressive driving as the worst thing they saw drivers do on the roads while other aspects of inconsiderate driving also attracted several responses.
"[Austrian drivers' worst habit is] hugging the middle lane on the Autobahn!" said Nick from the UK, living in Vienna.
He also bemoaned their "slow overtaking manoeuvres and crossing three or four lanes with the blinker on continually".
Unsurprisingly, people using their phone while driving also got some hate.
Using a phone
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How does the Vienna parking system work?
Even though use of a mobile phone while driving without a hands-free device now incurs a fine of €100, increased from the previous amount of €50, the practice still seems to be going on.
"I see far too many people do this, completely unaware of how distracted they actually are," said Matt, from the UK, living in Vienna.
"They'll weave in and out of lanes, they'll speed, and are completely oblivious to things happening around them," he added.
Meanwhile, Lee from the US, living in Vienna, hates it most when drivers cut in front. "The motorcycles driving in between stopped cars is the worst!" he said.
Use of the horn
Interestingly, the only one of our multiple-choice worst-habit options to attract zero votes from readers was using the horn.
What do you think? Are Austrian drivers less horn-happy than other countries? Let us know in the comments!
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See Also
Failing to indicate
Failing to indicate is a pretty bad habit to get into and can definitely be considered as inconsiderate driving at best.
According to our readers, this practice is quite prevalent in Austria, with this taking the spot spot in our poll of Austrian drivers' worst habits.
Several readers, including both Rebecca from England, living in Styria and Graham from the UK, living in Salzburg, found drivers' failure to signal on or before roundabouts particularly irksome.
READ ALSO: The six ways you can lose your driving licence in Austria
Speeding
The national speed limit on most Austrian motorways is 130km/h with built-up area limits ranging from 30 – 50km/h.
But with the self-reported frequency of exceeding the speed limit in Austria one of the highest in Europe, according to a 2021 European Road Safety Observatory profile, it looks like some people might interpret those limits rather loosely.
The Local readers seem to agree – speeding came out in second place in the poll,
"Speeding down roads in Vienna districts crowded with children, dog-walkers, mothers with strollers and seniors is getting more common," said Paul in Vienna.
Tailgating
Tailgating – the irritating and potentially dangerous habit of driving too close behind another car – was also high up on readers' list of bugbears.
John from the UK, living in Maria Alm, chose this as Austrian drivers' worst habit in the poll.
"Austrian drivers seem unable to stay in line and must overtake at the earliest opportunity, hence the tailgating," he said.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about driving on the autobahn in Austria
Inconsiderate parking, not letting drivers out, running red lights
Readers found the other options in our multiple choice poll – inconsiderate parking, not letting other drivers out in traffic and running red lights – all equally annoying, the results showed.
A couple of respondents went even further, naming all of the choices (bar using the horn) as Austrian drivers' worst habits.
There are clearly a fair few bad practices on the Austrian roads as several readers chose different habits to those listed in the poll options.
Aggressive driving
Some cited aggressive driving as the worst thing they saw drivers do on the roads while other aspects of inconsiderate driving also attracted several responses.
"[Austrian drivers' worst habit is] hugging the middle lane on the Autobahn!" said Nick from the UK, living in Vienna.
He also bemoaned their "slow overtaking manoeuvres and crossing three or four lanes with the blinker on continually".
Unsurprisingly, people using their phone while driving also got some hate.
Using a phone
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How does the Vienna parking system work?
Even though use of a mobile phone while driving without a hands-free device now incurs a fine of €100, increased from the previous amount of €50, the practice still seems to be going on.
"I see far too many people do this, completely unaware of how distracted they actually are," said Matt, from the UK, living in Vienna.
"They'll weave in and out of lanes, they'll speed, and are completely oblivious to things happening around them," he added.
Meanwhile, Lee from the US, living in Vienna, hates it most when drivers cut in front. "The motorcycles driving in between stopped cars is the worst!" he said.
Use of the horn
Interestingly, the only one of our multiple-choice worst-habit options to attract zero votes from readers was using the horn.
What do you think? Are Austrian drivers less horn-happy than other countries? Let us know in the comments!
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