Driving in Austria: licence, roads and tolls

A vignette before the first motorway, winter tyres between November and April, and separate tolls for the big alpine tunnels.

• Buy the vignette before you drive onto a motorway, not after. It is sold for ten days, two months or a year at petrol stations either side of the border and online; the digital one takes 18 days to activate if bought online, so buy at the counter if you are leaving tomorrow.
• The tunnels are extra. The Brenner, Tauern, Katschberg, Arlberg and Karawanken all charge their own toll on top of the vignette.
• Winter tyres are compulsory in wintry conditions from 1 November to 15 April. The rule is about the conditions, not the date - snow, slush or ice on the road, and the tyres must be fitted.
• The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l, and 0.1 g/l for drivers who have held a licence less than two years.
• Motorway speed is 130 km/h, with 100 km/h night limits on some stretches around Salzburg and in Tyrol, signed as you go.