Motorway vignette turns 25 – salzburg.ORF.at
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The motorway vignette is 25 years old. The classic sticker for the windshield is being replaced more and more by its digital counterpart. The ÖAMTC motorists’ club sold 35,000 vignettes today, 30,000 of which are already digital.
Although the online vignette was only introduced a few years ago, says the head of the ÖAMTC in Salzburg, Martina Schlegel-Lanz. “The vignette has been with the ÖAMTC since it existed, and it has been 25 years now. And that’s where we have arrived in the digital age. Only 15 percent of the vignettes sold are now adhesive vignettes. “
The vignette was introduced in 1997. The fact that people have to pay for the use of motorways and expressways caused a stir at the time. The sticker cost 550 schillings, the equivalent of around 40 euros, when it was launched – today it is more than twice as expensive.
Toll roads need to be in better condition
“You have to pay to be allowed to drive – on the other hand, the driver also derives a claim from this. A road system that is subject to payment must be in good condition and damage must be repaired there faster than on roads that can be used free of charge, ”emphasizes Schlegel-Lanz. The previous year’s vignette is still gilded until the end of January.