Truck Driving Bans in Case of Pollution Peaks Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland
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1 Truck driving bans in case of pollution peaks Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland In case the limit values of certain air pollutants are exceeded (exceeding the number of days with high particulate pollution), the Austrian air pollution control act (Immissionsschutzgesetz-Luft - IG- L) foresees that provincial governors should take measures to improve air quality. As the limit values have already been exceeded in the past, the provincial governors of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland have consequently drawn up catalogues of measures. These measures specific to each province identify low-emission zones. In addition to equipment-related measures (particulate filters), all catalogues also include measures relating to traffic. The latter entered into force on 1 July 2008 and are independent of current air pollution levels. As from 1 July 2014, the truck traffic ban will be strengthened in Vienna and the eastern part of Lower Austria. This applies to all trucks and semi-trailers with a Euro 1 engine registered up to 30 September 1996. From 1 January 2016 trucks and semi-trailers with a Euro 2 engine (registered from 1 October 1996 to 30 September 2001) will also be banned. Currently applicable general exemptions will only apply to trucks with expensive special bodywork. Discussions are still ongoing to determine to which types of trucks this will apply. From 1 January 2015, all the more recent trucks which remain allowed on the roads will have to bear a sticker, available from any auto repair shop at a price of about € 30, payable once. The next annual roadworthiness test will be an opportunity to affix this sticker to the trucks concerned. Affected areas (map on page 4): Vienna – whole province (Land) Lower Austria: low-emission zone of Wien-Umgebung: in the district of Bruck an der Leitha, the municipalities of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, Bruck an der Leitha, Enzersdorf an der Fischa, Göttlesbrunn-Arbesthal, Götzendorf an der Leitha, Hainburg an der Donau, Haslau-Maria Ellend, Höflein, Petronell-Carnuntum, Rohrau, Scharndorf, Trautmannsdorf an der Leitha; in the district of Gänserndorf, the municipalities of Aderklaa, Andlersdorf, Deutsch-Wagram, Eckartsau, Engelhartstetten, Gänserndorf, Glinzendorf, Groß-Enzersdorf, Großhofen, Haringsee, Lassee, Leopoldsdorf im Marchfelde, Mannsdorf an der Donau, Marchegg, Markgrafneusiedl, Obersiebenbrunn, Orth an der Donau, Parbasdorf, Raasdorf, Strasshof an der Nordbahn, Untersiebenbrunn, Weiden an der March, Weikendorf; in the district of Korneuburg, the municipalities of Bisamberg, Ernstbrunn, Großmugl, Hagenbrunn, Hausleiten, Korneuburg, Langenzersdorf, Sierndorf; in the district of Mödling, the municipalities of Achau, Biedermannsdorf, Brunn am Gebirge, Guntramsdorf, Hennersdorf, Laxenburg, Münchendorf, Vösendorf, Wiener Neudorf; in the district of Wien-Umgebung, the municipalities of Fischamend, Gerasdorf bei Wien, Himberg, Schwechat, Ebergassing, Klein-Neusiedl, Klosterneuburg, Lanzendorf, Leopoldsdorf, Maria-Lanzendorf, Rauchenwarth, Schwadorf, Zwölfaxing; Burgenland: the whole of the province, but only for trucks built in 1991 or older. 2 Types of trucks concerned: The ban does not foresee any restriction of the weight of the truck. Therefore, the ban also applies to journeys with smaller trucks (e.g. trucks eligible for a tax rebate, vans, business vans or SUVs registered as trucks). Since the ban applies to trucks and semi-trailers, special vehicles, self-propelled machines and other vehicles (e.g. campers) are not affected. Only those vehicles whose registration certificate indicates truck or semi-trailer are affected by the ban Main business exemption: General exemptions (excerpt) for Burgenland: The former exemptions under an earlier version of the IG-L still apply here. The ban does not apply to: • commercial trips which • are carried out for the purpose of a loading operation • within, from or bound for the low-emission zone. However, these exemptions no longer apply in Vienna or Lower Austria! General exemptions (excerpt) for Vienna and Lower Austria: Emergency vehicles, public service vehicles, utility trucks, road maintenance vehicles, vehicles for railway maintenance, water and energy supply services, sewer maintenance and refuse collection, etc., as well as disaster relief vehicles Agriculture and forestry vehicles (only in cases where agriculture or forestry is the core business) Vehicles whose use within the low-emission zone is of overriding public interest – to be determined on a case by case basis (exceptional exemption, with appropriate vehicle marking) Trucks with a GVW up to 12 tonnes operated on own account in the low-emission zone, by operators whose entire truck fleet comprises no more than 4 trucks (with vehicle marking) Vehicles powered by methane gas or 100% electric, as well as Plug-in-Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) (electric range of more than 50 km) Some vehicles used in airport operations. Exemptions foreseen to the catalogues of measures in Vienna and Lower Austria: Lower Austria: proof of compliance with NOx and PM10 values (e.g. appropriate filter) Trucks with expensive special bodies (for Vienna: extremely expensive) Fairground and circus vehicles Historical vehicles (worthy of preservation, not for permanent use, either built in 1955 or older, or recorded in the register of historical motor vehicles for over 30 years) Lower Austria: army vehicles, vehicles used in the public interest. To identify trucks with expensive special bodies (and therefore legally exempted from the traffic ban), the Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria specifies that they are: “Vehicles fitted with dedicated structures, such as tank weighing, concrete mixing and sweeping devices, vehicles with special technical equipment (metrology vehicles) and silo trucks.” In our opinion, for Vienna this applies to special bodies with a minimum value of € 100,000. More detailed discussions on the subject will take place in the coming months. An individual, time-limited exemption may also be requested for journeys through the low- emission zone in case of overriding public interest. Applications must be submitted to the District Commission (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) or magistrate of the low-emission zone. These authorities examine whether an overriding public interest exists at the request of the registered owner. The applicant must demonstrate that the journey cannot be avoided through organisational measures or by choosing a different means of transport. The exemption is granted by the authority for a limited period not exceeding twelve months. 3 Road signs All bans (catalogues of measures) have been announced in the Official Gazette (Landesgesetzblatt) of the respective provinces. The bans apply immediately on publication. No road signs specific to the bans will be installed. Marking of vehicles The catalogue of measures for Vienna explicitly states that all trucks exempted from the traffic ban must be fitted with an exhaust class sticker. This must be affixed on all trucks from 1 January 2015. Therefore, we recommend using the forthcoming roadworthiness inspection in 2014 to affix this sticker to the trucks. For newly-registered trucks, the sticker is issued by the dealer; for trucks already on the road, the sticker will be available from auto repair workshops (approved for roadworthiness inspections). The sticker costs € 2.50, but a fee for the service may be applied by the workshop (estimated cost € 25). For trucks up to 3.5 t GVW, only the approved workshop is authorised to affix the sticker in the upper right corner of the windshield (seen from inside). For trucks over 3.5 t GVW, the operator or its employees are authorised to affix the sticker. Vehicles for which an individual exemption was granted require marking according to the IG-L. Tip: In general, the driver should take on each journey appropriate evidence for all exemptions (e.g. “Typenschein” type approval certificate, “Einzelgenehmigungsbescheid” individual exemption decision, delivery notes, etc.), to be produced in case of police checks. For trucks over 3.5 t maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW), the marking is a round white board or sticker at least 20 cm in diameter affixed next to the front and rear licence plate and for road trains, adjacent to the front licence plate and to the rear licence plate of the trailer. For trucks up to 3.5t GVW the IG-L sticker may be smaller (diameter of at least 15 cm). The corresponding marking plates or stickers are available in specialised stores and service stations. Further information: For more on traffic bans, please look up the wko.at website: http://wko.at/lkw-fahrverbote Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria: http://www.noe.gv.at/umwelt/umweltschutz/umweltrecht-allgemein/igl_fahrverbot_lkw.html Office of the Provincial Government of Vienna: http://www.wien.gv.at/umweltschutz/luft/fahrverbot.html Office of the Provincial Government of Burgenland: http://www.burgenland.at/natur-umwelt/luftguete/luft 4 Sources : WKO, AISO .