Court asks Constitutional Court to review A2 speed limits

Lower Austria’s administrative court has asked the Constitutional Court to review the legality of speed limits on the A2 motorway near Wiener Neudorf. The request concerns an 80 km/h zone that the court says extends beyond the stretch required by a noise assessment, ORF Lower Austria reported.

The case began after a driver was caught travelling at 90 km/h in an 80 km/h zone by a fixed radar camera near Vösendorf on Christmas Eve 2025. The driver appealed a €35 fine and €10 in procedural costs, arguing in part that the speed limit was not adequately justified.

The transport ministry introduced the limit in December 2024 to reduce noise for nearby residents. According to the court’s decision, the 80 km/h zone was extended beyond the section identified as necessary in the noise assessment because electronic traffic-control systems were already in place. Additional signs were not expected to be installed before 2026, so the limit was extended along a longer stretch as a temporary measure.

The court said it could find no sufficient technical justification for that extension. Its decision also says ASFINAG had raised concerns in November 2024 about the basis for the regulation, including the calculation of noise reduction and the balance between noise protection and traffic interests. ASFINAG proposed a variable speed limit, but the ministry dismissed the objections as unfounded without giving detailed reasons, according to the court.

Because the court has referred the entire regulation for review, the request also covers a 100 km/h limit included in it. The existing speed limits will remain in force until the Constitutional Court rules.

FPÖ leader in Lower Austria Udo Landbauer welcomed the referral and said he hoped the Constitutional Court would overturn the regulation.