The toll sticker (vignette) for 2012 is petrol in colour. Since the motorway toll sticker was first introduced in Austria in 1997 there have been sixteen different colours. The new sticker is valid from 1 December 2011 and it is obtainable from 7500 sales outlets inside and outside the country, for example at Austria's automobile clubs, the ÖAMTC and ARBÖ.

What is the correct way to affix my toll sticker?

For ease of inspection, the 2012 sticker must be affixed to the windscreen only, for example on the left edge or behind the rear view mirror (looking from inside the car). The Tolling Regulations (Mautordnung) stipulate that it may not be placed on a side window. Nor, as before, may it be obscured by a strip of tinted windscreen glass.

Fixing instructions are given on the back of the toll sticker!

The sticker must be affixed to a windscreen that is clean, dry and nongreasy.

The temperature inside the vehicle should be at least 5ºC. If it is too cold, the sticker may become partially detached. Ideally you should switch on the car heater fan to warm up the interior before attaching the sticker. Once it is firmly in place, cold temperatures are no longer a problem. On a motorcycle, the sticker must be attached in a visible place on a part of the motorcycle that is either difficult or impossible to remove.

If you stick the sticker on crooked, on no account remove it again. This renders it invalid! Safety features mean that motorway stickers that have been removed and reattached can be recognised, and they are invalid. Anyone caught with a reattached sticker will be liable to pay a substitute toll or a fine.

The sticker must not be affixed by means of special films, suction cups or adhesive tapes which prevent it from being directly in contact with the windscreen. Please remember that the sticker belongs to the vehicle and not to a licence plate or person. In other words, multiple vehicles with a transferable number plate cannot "share" a sticker. Every vehicle must have its own sticker.

Old stickers must be removed. No more than two Austrian stickers should be on a windscreen at the same time. Stubborn adhesive is best removed by wetting and rinsing off.

Prices

Like last year, stickers can be purchased for a period of one year, 2 months or 10 days.

Always keep the lower section of the sticker, because the backing paper with its serial number is your proof of purchase. If your windscreen gets broken, by a stone thrown up from the road, for example, you need to produce this in order to get a free replacement sticker. In the event of a broken windscreen, you can obtain a free replacement sticker from branches of the Austrian automobile clubs ÖAMTC and ARBÖ or the customer service department of the ASFINAG, MSG and MSG toll points or ASFINAG will refund the costs, as long as there are no claims against third parties. This regulation is only valid for annual toll stickers.

Revenues from the sticker, along with all other toll receipts, are spent by ASFINAG exclusively on constructing, operating and maintaining Austria's motorway and highway network.

Security feature

In a similar way to banknotes, all sticker types incorporate a two-dimensional hologram. This additional security feature will continue in future to be the main safeguard against forgeries. The effect is apparent when the sticker is tilted and holographic images of both the federal eagle and the motorway symbol can be seen. The number "12" shows that the sticker is valid for the year 2012 (from 1 December 2011 to 31 January 2013).

Fines

Anyone failing to comply with the new sticker regulations will incur a substitute toll of 120 Euro for multi-lane motor vehicles and 65 Euro for motorbikes or - if he/she fails to pay this immediately - will face administrative proceedings with a possible fine of at least 300 Euro.

If a sticker has been manifestly tampered with, the penalty will be a substitute toll of 240 Euro or administrative proceedings with a possible fine of at least 300 Euro. Stickers that are not affixed or time-related stickers that have not been punched (2-month or 10-day stickers) are not valid.

Drivers caught with stickers like this are liable to a substitute toll or fines.