Overview
- Austria’s 36th amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations takes effect May 1, 2026, allowing cities to use automated cameras to police entry to zones like pedestrian areas and school streets.
- The systems may record only license plates plus time and place, they apply only to multi‑lane vehicles such as cars and vans, they can read foreign plates, and data must be deleted if no violation is found.
- Cities must mark controlled stretches with extra signs at both ends and a painted line of white dots so drivers know where enforcement begins and ends.
- Parliament passed the change with ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS in favor and FPÖ opposed, as the ÖAMTC warned of a patchwork of new driving bans without uniform national exemptions.
- About 25 cities have shown interest, Vienna’s rollout is expected to stretch to 2028 due to EU procurement steps for cameras and software, and violations can bring fines up to €726 or up to €2,180 for repeat or serious cases.