Truck Driving Bans in Austria: Times, Rules and Calendar
In Austria, trucks over 7.5 t face a nationwide night ban (22:00–05:00) and a weekend and public-holiday ban. On top of that come seasonal transit bans on the Tyrol and Salzburg corridors, plus tunnel, parking and emission-class restrictions. This overview covers the permanent rules, the main exemptions and the current 2026 driving-ban calendar: with the specific dates for the A 12, A 13, A 4 and the key federal roads.
Last updated: July 2026. The calendar dates are taken from the official ordinances (BGBl. II 77/2026, 338/2025 and 121/2026). The signage on the road and the official calendar always take precedence.
Table of contents
- The permanent bans: night, weekend, public holiday
- 2026 driving-ban calendar: transit dates
- Tunnel, sectoral and emission-class bans
- Parking bans and restricted zones
- Toll-diversion and regional bans
- Make bans visible while you plan
- FAQ
1 | The permanent bans: night, weekend, public holiday
These three bans apply all year, nationwide and independent of any calendar. The legal basis is § 42 of the Austrian Road Traffic Act (StVO).
Exemptions from the night ban: road-service and military vehicles, plus certified low-noise trucks carrying the yellow “L” plate (manufacturer certificate, re-checked every two years).
Exemptions from the weekend and public-holiday ban (extract): combined transport within a 65 km radius of designated rail terminals; carriage of livestock for slaughter, postal items and periodicals; beverage supply in excursion areas; urgent repairs, towing and breakdown assistance, refuse collection; certain fresh foods (with a consignment note or loading list). The full list is in § 42 StVO.
2 | 2026 driving-ban calendar: transit dates
On top of the permanent bans, seasonal ordinances close individual transit axes on specific days: above all on the Brenner and Tauern routes. The most common dispatch mistake: the Brenner public-holiday bans are destination-based. The same day can block traffic heading to Italy while allowing traffic heading to Germany: miss that and you lose hours at a checkpoint.
A 12 Inntal & A 13 Brenner: public-holiday transit bans 2026
Applies to trucks, trucks with trailers and articulated vehicles over 7.5 t GVW:
Summer Saturday bans 2026
On summer Saturdays, 08:00–15:00 each time, in both directions:
For the A 4, source and destination traffic to and from the districts of Neusiedl am See, Eisenstadt (city and surroundings), Rust, Mattersburg, Bruck an der Leitha, Gänserndorf and Korneuburg is exempt. The federal-road bans apply only outside built-up areas.
Luegbrücke: extra Saturday closures on A 12, A 13 and A 14
Because of the Luegbrücke renovation, additional Saturday and single-day closures apply in 2026 for trucks over 7.5 t on the A 12, A 13 and A 14 toward the Brenner (BGBl. II 338/2025): on Saturdays from January to mid-March, from late May to early June and from late June to late September, each 07:00–15:00, and on individual holiday dates 07:00–22:00. The exact days and the current single-lane status are published by ASFINAG; the full list of dates is in the WKO overview.
Salzburg: spring closure on the A 10 Tauern Autobahn 2026
On the A 10 (northbound carriageway toward Salzburg, between the Villach and Salzburg junctions), trucks over 7.5 t are banned from Monday 18 May 2026, 11:00, until Saturday 23 May 2026, 04:00 (BGBl. II 121/2026). Source and destination traffic for certain regions is exempt.
3 | Tunnel, sectoral and emission-class bans
- Arlberg Tunnel: ban on dangerous-goods transport requiring placards (ADR).
- A 12 Inntal: sectoral ban on certain goods between Langkampfen (km 6.35) and Zirl (km 90.00), plus a permanent night and emission-class ban.
- Over-height/over-width loads need advance authorisation.
4 | Parking bans and restricted zones
- City centres (Vienna districts 1–9, Salzburg old town, central Innsbruck): no parking for trucks over 7.5 t outside marked areas.
- Tourist and nature-protection zones (e.g. Hohe Tauern National Park, Alpine resorts): heavy-vehicle parking only at official facilities.
- Motorway hard shoulders, exits and tunnel portals: parking prohibited to keep traffic flowing.
5 | Toll-diversion and regional bans
Since 2004, nearly every province closes through-roads to trucks over 3.5 t to prevent toll-diversion traffic (with exemptions for local source and destination traffic; signposted in each case). Vienna and parts of Lower Austria and Styria also enforce emission-class bans on Euro-1 and Euro-2 trucks. If you regularly run the Austrian transit axes, keep an eye on the Austrian truck toll in parallel.
6 | Make bans visible while you plan: with IMPARGO
A TMS does not take the bans off your hands: IMPARGO does not automatically plan around driving bans, nor does it block them by itself. What it does is surface the conflict early, so you resolve it at your desk instead of at a checkpoint.
- Plan in the Planner Module: calculate route, ETA and per-country toll costs for the tour, including the Brenner and Tauern axes.
- Set a time blocker (manually): the dispatcher adds a time blocker in the Dispatch Module for the ban window, e.g. Saturday 08:00–15:00 on the A 4.
- See the conflict on the timeline: if a tour collides with the blocker, it becomes visible on the dispatch timeline. IMPARGO enforces nothing: the dispatcher re-times the tour manually and coordinates with the customer.
- Transparent down to the driver: the revised plan flows to the driver via the DriverApp; status and documents stay digital.
The benefit is not “automatic compliance” but overview and reaction time. Tour costs can be checked live in the cost calculation alongside.
7 | FAQ
From what weight does the ban apply?
The night ban from 7.5 t GVW; the weekend and public-holiday ban from 3.5 t for trucks with a trailer, and from 7.5 t for solo trucks and articulated vehicles.
Is there a Saturday ban?
Yes, twice over: the nationwide weekend ban from Saturday 15:00, plus extra summer Saturday bans (08:00–15:00) on the A 4 and several Tyrolean federal roads.
When does the night ban apply?
Daily from 22:00 to 05:00, nationwide.
What applies on public holidays?
The public-holiday ban from 00:00 to 22:00, plus the destination-based Brenner transit bans on individual dates (see the 2026 calendar).
