Which countries need a vignette or any other permit to use roads? (1 Viewer)

[Chris51]

Which countries require you to pay to use their roads as I dont particularly want to use motorways dont want to get "fined" through not knowing and using them!

 

[jongood]

If you look at the foreign lorries on our roads - Those are the ones;

Poland, Czech, Austria, slovakia, Hungary are the main culprits, different rules if you are over 3.5 tonnes and the Austrians fine people for fun anyway.

Oh forgot Switzerland, but dont mind paying for their Motorways because they are engineering marvels and superb to travel on.

hth - sorry to rant but its a pet hate of mine.

Jon

 

[pyro]

Be wary of driving in Portugal, their toll system is a complete mess. If crossing the border from Northern Spain (Guarda) or Southern Spain (Villa Real) you have the opportunity to insert your credit card into a "foreigner toll point" (which is hidden in a service area) and that will cover you for use of the electronic toll roads only for up to 30 days. Miss the toll point at the start, and you can watch the fines roll in - there is no mechanism for retrospective payment and no second chance

To complicate matters, this system does not cover the "manual" toll roads, thus you have to stop at toll booths. Do NOT try to cross the separate "VV" electronic tolls booths, that is a different system and you will suffer a penalty that will make your eyes sting, your ears shrivel and your wallet smoulder

To further complicate matters, the Algarve no longer offers manual toll booths, and thus you either rely on the card you swiped on entry to the country (but only if you have a foreign registered vehicle that entered the country within the past 30 days) or have to subscribe to an electronic tag, which you have to settle at post offices

It is possible to creatively get from point A to point B without touching the toll system, but not as comfortably or directly. You do not need a vignette (again, only if you have a foreign registered vehicle)

Monty Python did a sketch about how easy it is(n't):



The whole system is barely understood, let alone tolerated, by the Portuguese or visitors alike, explaining why their European funded motorway system is pristine in that very few dare to use it. Just be aware that fines for non payment are higher than the fines they give to first time offender drunk drivers

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

Slovenia is another, if over 3.5t you can pay at toll booths as you go.

 

[Cat53]

Do these only apply if you are over 3.5 t ?

 

[pyro]

In Portugal, you are categorised as a cat 2 vehicle on the wheelbase of your vehicle, not your weight

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[magicsurfbus]

In Germany you should have an Umwelt (Environmental) sticker for most cities - it's a one-off payment. You can buy them before setting off but it costs more. If your sticker isn't green you shouldn't enter green Umwelt zones. If your sticker is red don't enter yellow or green zones.

Swiss vignettes can be bought at the border crossing, or in advance.

 

[travelbunyip]

Hi. This a page I put together a couple of years ago giving the details of 8 countries which use vignettes.
The prices may have gone up since it was written. Hope this helps.
http://www.travelbunyip.com/vignettes/