Place-name sign (Austria)
The Austrian place-name sign is a traffic sign and indicates the beginning or the end of the “inner-local” section of the road network called the local area . Place-name signs are set up on incoming and outgoing streets in a town , provide information about the town's name and, in accordance with road traffic law , indicate, for example, the start of speed restrictions within a built-up area. Accordingly, there is then an end-of-place board that shows the end of the place and removes restrictions there.
Road traffic regulations Austria
The Austrian StVO only knows the designation Ortstafel § 53 / 17a ("Ortsanfangtafel"), and Ortensende § 53 / 17b ("Ortsendetafel"). These are information signs . Unlike in Germany, this z. B. fixed speed limits over 50 km / h are not automatically overridden and also apply within the local area (only on the road in question) until they are lifted.
The fact that the place-name signs can also have a strong emotional and identity-creating effect outside of road traffic is shown by the example of the place-name sign dispute , which was controversial in Carinthia for decades.
Place-name signs and local area
The local area denotes the road network within the traffic signs “Ortstafel” and “Ortstafel”. The local area is therefore not an area of municipal administration or spatial planning .
The administrative court ruled that in Austria there are no building gaps (unobstructed area) that are longer than 200 meters within the local area. It makes no difference if the built-up area is only on one side of the street. The place-name sign can only be affixed to the topographical local boundary if it coincides with the built-up area. The scope of the local area must be determined by the competent authority by ordinance. The appearance of the place-name signs is standardized, but the size depends on the location, visibility and the importance of the street, etc. The largest place-name sign in Austria is two meters wide and one meter high in Bad Eisenkappel .
The signs have been white with a blue border since January 1st, 1977 and the writing is black. The place-name signs are similar to the place-name signs with a diagonal red bar. Since it is attached to the back of the place-name sign, it is the only traffic sign that is only set up on the left-hand side of the street; additional signs on the right-hand side of the street are rare. Before that, the place-name signs had a blue bar at the top and bottom - these have been invalid since the 10-year transition period on January 1, 1987.
In the local area, if no other speed is prescribed, a maximum speed of 50 km / h applies. A start or end sign does not remove an existing speed limit.
In principle, only the official name of the place is to be given on the sign “place-name sign”.
In some places or districts there are information boards with the district name. However, these do not have a blue border and therefore do not constitute a local area according to the StVO . In this case, a desired speed limit would have to be explicitly announced separately via an additional board. These large panels usually have the corresponding red crossed out on their back. Locations or districts can, however, also be labeled with significantly smaller ones, about only 20 cm high and in one line, for orientation. Also black and white, but with multiple lines, small boards near the borders of the city of Graz indicate a state law regulation regarding taxi traffic in Graz.
That place-name signs can also be an expression of the identification of the local population shows the fact that in addition to the place name and contrary to the legal provisions, the municipality name can also be used, depending on how the place feels or belongs to a municipality. how much independence he gets within the community. This repeatedly led to disputes when the parishes were merged. In particular, these differences can occur in multilingual areas, as shown, for example, by the local sign dispute in Carinthia. Austria is obliged by international treaty to set up bilingual place-name signs in areas with a Slovene or Croatian population. So far there are place-name signs in 77 places with additional Slovene inscriptions in Carinthia and 47 with Croatian inscriptions in Burgenland . The places Oberwart and Oberpullendorf are the only Austrian district capitals with bilingual signposted place-name signs and also two of a total of four places that have place-name signs with additional Hungarian inscriptions .
Place-name sign in the old design in Sölling
Place-name sign in the old design in Knittelfeld
Ludmannsdorf in Carinthia (German / Slovenian)
Großwarasdorf in Burgenland (German / Croatian)
Oberwart in Burgenland (German / Hungarian)
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Additional boards
Road traffic signs that are on the same attachment device as the place-name sign are valid for the entire local area; Examples of this are the horn ban in Vienna or general 30 or 40 speed zones in some localities. The attachment of other information signs, with the exception of a green and white additional board with the inscription "Erholungsdorf", was inadmissible and represented a so-called "lack of notification". In 2002, the Independent Administrative Senate (UVS) of the Province of Upper Austria decided that a motorist who was 68 50 km / h was traveling in the local area, the imposed traffic fine did not have to be paid, as an additional sign " Climate Alliance Community " was attached to the town sign . In its knowledge, however, the UVS described this fact as "unsatisfactory". Many of these additional signs were then removed and instead placed in front of or after the place-name sign.
The legal situation changed in 2003 when, in addition to the “Erholungsdorf” board, “similar boards describing the community in more detail” were also approved. Furthermore, since 2005, the installation of additional boards on the town sign can no longer justify a lack of notification.
"The affixing of a green sign with the white inscription ' Erholungsdorf ' - for places that are entitled to use the name Erholungsdorf - or a similar sign describing the community in more detail below the place-name sign is permitted if this does not make it easy to recognize the place-name sign impaired and the safety of traffic is not endangered; such a sign must not protrude laterally over the place-name sign. "
Place name board
There is also the place name board (black writing on white without a blue border) for places that are not a local area and a board announcement for recreation places, a "board describing the community in more detail" with white letters on green, which are not explicitly regulated by the StVO , but are a special board in accordance with guidelines and regulations for road traffic (RVS) and are attached below various other traffic signs.
Theft of place-name signs
Place signs are dismantled again and again, especially with unusual place names. This often happens in the Upper Austrian town of Fucking . Most of the other places are rather isolated cases, like von Unterstinkenbrunn . What starts out as a rascal prank can have serious legal consequences. Since place-name signs are part of the so-called critical infrastructure because of the speed limit associated with them , up to three years in prison can be imposed as a penalty.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c § 53 Para. 1 Z. 17a and 17 b Road Traffic Act 1960
- ↑ Federal Law Gazette No. 412/1976 (PDF)
- ↑ Supreme Court judgment 11Os118 / 89 of November 14, 1989
- ↑ Finding VwSen-108335/2 / BR / Rd of the UVS Upper Austria from June 19, 2002
- ↑ Federal Law Gazette I No. 59/2003 (PDF)
- ↑ BGBl. 52/2005
- ↑ Special boards according to RVS. (pdf) (No longer available online.) In: Verkehrstechnik → Verkehrszeichen und Schilder. Ebinger & Sohn, 2009, p. 3, table rows 1 and 2 , formerly in the original ; Retrieved June 4, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Directives and regulations for the road system (RVS). In: bmvit.gv.at >> traffic >> pedestrian and bicycle traffic >> law. Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology , 2010, accessed on June 4, 2010 .
- ↑ Unterstinkenbrunn: The place-name sign as a souvenir on ORF from January 17, 2019, accessed on January 17, 2019
