[PRCo] European Highway Tolls

[Fred Schneider]

An Open Letter to Boris Cefer

The rest of you may read or delete as you see fit:

INTRODUCTION:

For those of you who have never driven on European highways, most of  
the expressway networks are not free.   The German autobahns are free  
to anyone.   So are the Biritish motorways.   The French erect toll  
barriers almost everywhere and their tolls, by our standards, are  
nothing short of outrageous.   When the Pennsylvania Turnpike  
Commission was charging 3 cents a mile, the French were charging  
twice or three times as much and taking Visa, Master Card, Eurocard,  
American Express, Diners Club, and so forth because tolls were a big  
ticket purchase.

But many countries charged tolls in the form of an annual sticker  
that you put in your windshield.   And if you didn't have the  
sticker, you risked getting a fine.   I was lucky that I never got  
one driving across Austria without the window sticker.   Hungary, the  
Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland come to mind as countries  
that require window decals in order to use their expressway  
networks.    The decal system worked fine as long ass there were  
customs stations at borders because the immigration people asked if  
you planned to use the motorways or autobahns or autostradas, and  
then directed you over to the building to your right to buy the  
decal.   But now there are no customs people at the borders between  
European Common Market countries.   Going from Germany into France is  
no different from going from Pennsylvania into West Virginia and  
sometimes they even forget to put up the welcome to France sign if  
you're not on a major road!

So you simply need to know which countries require a window decal for  
expressway or toll road driving....

NOW THE QUESTIONS TO BORIS:

Because I don't want to pay any traffic fines Boris, can you explain  
the rules to me:

1.   What is the window decal called in the Czech language?   In  
other words, what do I ask for?   If I drive north from Linz,  
Austria, where can I buy one?

2.   Is it required for all foreign registered cars or cars driving  
only on certain roads?

3.   What time periods are they available for and at what costs?

4    On which roads?

5.   The AAA guide book doesn't even mention Slovakia ... not  
important to Americans I guess.   Is such a decal required to get  
from Wein into Bratislava and back out?   What do the Slovaks call it?

6.   And the Hungarian tongue?