Overview
- The new traffic rules, which took effect on October 1, 2026, are now being enforced with fixed fines commonly set at €200 for key breaches and active police checks on roads and rental fleets.
- Drivers overtaking cyclists outside built-up areas must cut speed by at least 20 km/h from the limit and give 1.5 metres lateral space, while in cities motor vehicles must keep five metres when following a bicycle and cyclists should ride mid‑lane.
- All cyclists must wear a helmet outside built-up areas and motorcycle and moped riders and passengers must wear closed shoes on every road, with a requirement for protective gloves outside towns that depends on a later ministerial order to set technical standards.
- New micromobility rules raise the minimum age for e-scooters to 15, impose a general helmet and night-visibility requirement, require commercial couriers to wear warning vests, and include no special transitional exemptions for tourists renting bikes or scooters.
- Practical and technical work remains: some equipment standards await ministerial orders or UNECE homologation, municipalities can set local routes and limits, and early enforcement has already prompted courier fleet changes and regional knock-on effects such as Austria issuing dozens of citations on its first day of new e-moped rules.