Is it true that I have to buy a tax disk or sticker at the border in order to drive in the Czeck Republic for a merely a week? I am renting a car in Munich and driving in Czeck, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. Any other information on this subject?

tt

Czeck Republic says the following:The fee for the use of motorways and roads by motor vehicles in the Czech Republic is paid in the form of the so-called motorway stickers which must be fastened to the inside of the windscreen (the same systém is used in Austria or Switzerland). Stickers (annual ? costing CZK 800, monthly ? CZK 200 and ten-day ? CZK 100 for vehicles up to 3,500 kg) can be purchased at post offices, border crossings and at select petrol stations. Stickers for vehicles of overall weight from 3,500 to 12,000 kg can be purchased for one calendar year ? CZK 6,000, one calendar month ? CZK 1000, or ten consecutive calendar days ? CZK 400.

When driving in Austria, you need to purchase a sticker that is called a "vignette". The car rental folks will not do this for you. You need to purchase the vignette at local gas stations or border stores. The cost is based upon the number of days that you need it for. It's pretty cheap but I understand the fine for being without is quite steep.

Call me a scofflaw - - but I just rented a car in Vienna and drove it into the Czech Republic, and into Poland and back and never saw any info about needing a sticker/vignette, except for the quite obvious sign when we re-entered Austria. Since our car originated in Austria, I rather assumed that we had the vignette for Austria. There was indeed somekind of sticker on the (oddly located?) upper RIGHT hand corner of the windshield. From the inside of the car I could not read it all (I remember thinking I ought to look at that thing the next time I am outside the car, but never remembered to do it).

More than once I have entered Austria, driving a German car, which did NOT have an Austrian vignette, and the border police never said anything (quite unlike the Swiss border control which directs you straight towards the purchase window for the Swiss vignettes) - - that doesn't it make it right to violate this law, but I think that the risk is low.

I do think that Austrian vignettes are sold for fractional year prices (i.e., 1 week, 1 month, etc) whereas the Swiss vignettes I have purchased were infuriatingly for an entire year.

Best wishes,

Rex