Driving in Austria, Switzerland and Germany
 

Hi,
I am an Indian citizen a valid Indian driving licence and of course Schengen visa.
My Indian Driving licence is English smart card format.

I plan to take a car from Frankfurt and travel to Austria then come back to germany and travel to Switzerland.

As per German Consulate i can drive with a valid (English) Indian Driving license (without any need of international driving license)
http://www.india.diplo.de/Vertretung...__License.html

As per the information in Austrian government website, Indian driving license should be valid in Austia.
https://www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/h...e.1390000.html

I have no information about Switzerland.

Here are my key questions.
1) Do i need an international driving permit/license to drive in Austria and Switzerland or is a valid Indian Driving License (English) is enough?
2) Is cross border card required when taking a rental car from Germany to Austria?
3) Is cross border card required when taking a rental car from Germany to Austria?
4) is there any other special documentation required to drive in Austria and Switzerland?

Thanks!!

#4. Not on you but on the CAR. You need country specific vignette stickers, which you buy near the borders, on your CAR to drive on highways in Austria and Switzerland. A car from Germany would not have the stickers.

Usually a car insured in a EU state is insured all over the EU, but I would anyway ask the hire company before bringing one of their cars outside its home country.

As greg pointed, you need highway stickers in Austria and Switzerland.
The Austrian sticker comes in three possible time limits (10 days, 2 months, 1 year) and the 10 days is relatively cheap. The Swiss sticker ("vignette") costs 40 SFR for 1 year, but you need the full year sticker even for a single day.

In order to access central urban areas in some German cities, the car needs a pollution check sticker, but it is likely that a German car will already have it.

Who are you renting from in Frankfurt?

Thanks a lot Greg and Asps.
As per my understanding regarding tolls ..

Austria: you would buy a 10 days vignette for the highway which cost you ~10 €
Switzerland: you would have to buy a year vignette for 38€

You buy them on a gas station. Both to be stuck on your front-window (inside)

@ Marcoss: I have not finalized yet. But mostly from Economy car rentals/Sixt/Europcar

It will be great if all my questions are answered before i travel in 2 weeks time :)

It will be great if all my questions are answered before i travel in 2 weeks time>

Ask the consulates of those countries in India for the definitive answer about the International Driving Permit - your car rental company will have all the documents needed in the car for you to drive across those borders (which you may never even have to stop for these days)

4) is there any other special documentation required to drive in Austria and Switzerland?

Well a passport with valid Visa.

Wallakam Vishnu

No prob crossing from Germany into Austria. Hitler did it in 1938.

Seriously, car renters put some restriction when going from Germany into former East European countries like Poland.
No prob with Austria.

Namaste.

and cows do not have the right away in Europe except maybe Switzerland!

And I've never een an elefant on the platform of a battered truck in Europe.

And don't honk all the time... it is impolite to honk in Europe, you're supposed to do it only in case of emergency (to prevent an accident).

Beware the dreaded speed cameras. Germany, Austria and Switzerland seem to place the in very unexpected places.

When renting a car in Germany, it will always have the aforementioned low-emission sticker - but that sticker comes in different colors. You can access any pollution-control zone with a green sticker (which most if not all new cars have).

If you plan to drive in Austria and Switzerland, it will 'usually' be included in your German rental contract.
Nevertheless, most rental car companies want you to inform them when you pick up the car that you plan to do so.

In Austria, you need reflective safety vests. These are not mandatory in Germany. Some rental cars have them anyway. If not, you can buy them for little money (€2 or so) at gas stations.

For Switzerland, the standard safety kit you find in your German rental car will be sufficient.

The toll stickers come with (pretty easy to understand) instructions where they must be attached on the inside of the windshield. You cannot just stick them anywhere.

From the Austrian web site given in the original posting:

Please note: If the foreign driving licence is not written in German, it is only valid in combination with an international driving licence or a translation.

Thanks everyone.
To be on safer side I will also take international driving license.
That's a pain though. Takes 7 working days.

Danke!

Looking forward for a great time in Europe.

Cheers!

Ah yes the cameras.
I do the same road 3-4 times a year.
Get flashed 3 times last time. On 150 kms.
Jeezzzzz.

Péage, à la belge :-)