Vignette (road tax)

"Vignette" is a word used in several non-English speaking European countries for toll stickers. It is ultimately of French origin, but was disseminated throughout Central Europe through German.

These are small, colored stickers affixed to motor vehicles passing through highways and two-lane freeways in some states of the European Union. The affixing of a toll sticker on a motor vehicle indicates that the respective road toll has been paid. Toll stickers are often valid for a year, they may also be a form of tax on the vehicles even if the driver doesn't drive on highways or freeways, and they are usually constructed in such a way that detaching and reattaching is impossible without destruction, ensuring that people can't use the same toll sticker on more than one car.

Eurovignette is a road toll for trucks used in the following European countries: Belgium, Denmark (starting on February 9, 1994), Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Sweden (starting in 1997).

Toll stickers by country

Austria

Toll stickers are required for all motorways and expressways under federal administration which can be recognized by the prefixes A and S in front of the number. The prices for cars (weighing less than 3.5 tons) are €7.70 for 10 days, €22.20 for 2 months, and €73.80 for one year. Motorcyclists have to pay €4.30, €10.90, and €29.00 respectively.

On motorways and roads, the toll stickers are controlled by the police and Mautsheriff employees of the federal motorway administration ASFINAG, which acts as a corporation due to economic aspects. As a fine, a substitute toll of €110 must be paid by travelers without a toll sticker, and €220 fine if the toll sticker has been altered (e.g., foil in between the windscreen and the toll sticker). This substitute toll allows the use of A and S networks on the day of payment and on the following day. If substitute toll is not paid, the traveler is subject to a complaint at the administration authority of the county, which may lead to a penalty fee between €400 and €4,000. Furthermore, personal valuables (including the car) can be confiscated from foreigners to guarantee the payment of the penalty.

In addition to the compulsory toll sticker for general motorway and expressway use in Austria, further tolls (per each single usage) must be paid on certain motorway and expressways (e.g. cost-intensive sections in the Alps. Additional Tollgates are installed on these roads.

Heavy vehicles are subject to a separate, mileage-dependent motorway tolls schedule via technology involving onboard and external monitors.

Bulgaria

Toll stickers are required for all types of roads, except for the streets inside cities, towns, and villages, as well as city ring roads. Three types of vignettes are available:
* K1 - Road vehicle 1st category: all freight vehicles with more than two axles, road trains, special construction equipment, auto cranes, special trailers for transport of heavy or oversized cargo, and other special motor vehicles.
* K2 - Road vehicle 2nd category: all passenger transport vehicles with more than 8 seats excluding the driver's seat and all freight vehicles with two axles, as well as construction equipment, auto cranes, special trailers for transport of heavy or oversized cargo, and other special motor vehicles, all of them with two axles.
* K3 - Road vehicle 3rd category: all passenger transport vehicles with no more than 8 seats.

Weekly, monthly, and yearly stickers are sold. Starting 2007, daily K1 and K2 stickers were introduced. Monthly and weekly stickers are valid for a given period of time, which need not coincide with calendar weeks and months. A yearly sticker is valid from January 1 until January 31 next year (13 months).

Prices change every year. In 2007, a yearly K3 sticker cost €35, a monthly sticker cost €13, and a weekly sticker cost €5.

Czech Republic

For privately owned vehicles, a toll sticker is required for use of motorways. They are available in 10-day, one month, and one year increments. For commercial vehicles, the sticker method was disposed of in 2007.

France

The French "vignette" based car tax was introduced in 1956 to fund a minimum income scheme for citizens aged 65 and above. All car owners were required to buy one at the end of each year. They were available in tobacco shops. The price depended on the engine's horsepower, and in which "département" the car was registered. Toll stickers were abolished for private individuals in 2001, while companies are still required to pay.

Germany

The toll sticker system was abolished on August 2003, after which a milage-based payment system for heavy trucks (exceeding 12 tons) called Toll Collect was established on January 1, 2005. For passenger cars the Autobahn is a toll-free road system.

Romania

For cars weighing less than 3.5 tons, the toll sticker prices are €3 for one week, €7 for one month, and €28 for one year.

Slovakia

Toll stickers are available in several categories depending on the vehicle's weight. They can be purchased for one year, one week, and one month.

Slovenia

For the use of 464,7 km of the Slovenian freeways and expressways use of toll stickers is obligatory for all vehicles with the permissible maximum weight of 3.5 tons on motorways and expressways as of July 1, 2008. The sticker costs are €35 for half a year, and €55 for a year. Motorcyclists have to pay €17.50, and €27.50 respectively. Trucks use existing toll road stops. [http://www.cestnina.si/Default.aspx?id=19766 Cestnina v Sloveniji ] ] Use of highways and expressways without a valid and properly displayed sticker in a vehicle is a violation of the law and is punished with a fine of €300 or more.

Due to the high costs of toll stickers for transit drivers going to vacation to Croatian and Montenegrin coast and others only passing through Slovenia, the highways are avoided by some travellers.cite web
url = http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/8938
title = Protest: Toll sticker in Slovenia makes driving more expensive for tourists
date = 2008-05-28
accessdate = 2008-07-11
work = Wien International] cite web
url = http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/svijet/slovenija-uvodi-vinjete.html
title = Od 1. srpnja prolaz kroz Sloveniju stajat će oko 260 kuna!
date = 2008-03-21
accessdate = 2008-07-12
work = Dnevnik.hr
language = Croatian] cite web
url = http://bezvinjete.blogspot.com/
title = Kroz Sloveniju besplatno (guide to avoid highways)
language = Croatian] However, Brussels has opened the case with the statement that the Slovenian vignette violates prevailing EU rights and discriminates road users. The European commissioner for traffic and transport, Antonio Tajan, is investigating in the case of discrimination. [ [http://splitguide.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/breaking-news-slovanian-vignette-most-possibly-violates-eu-rights/ Split-Guide, Dalmatien Travelguide] ]

Switzerland

All cars driving on autobahns of Switzerland are required to have an annual toll sticker. It costs CHF 40 for all cars with maximum admissible weight of 3.5 tons or less. A separate stickermust be purchased for a trailer or a caravan. The sticker is valid for 14 months, from December 1 to January 31 next year.

For heavy vehicles, a mileage-based tax has to be paid for all types of roads. The rate is calculated between departure and arrival point using the most convenient route.

Images of toll stickers

ee also

*Transport in Europe
*Toll roads in Europe
*Transport economics
*Road pricing

References

External links

* [http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_privat/informationen/00421/01659/index.html?lang=en Swiss Federal Customs Administration]
* [http://www.cestnina.si/Default.aspx?id=19766&lang=2 Motorway company in Slovenia]