Paid autobahns in Europe have long become commonplace, which no one is surprised at. Each country itself determines the cost and type of fare. Somewhere you have to pay at the entrance to the motorway, somewhere, on the contrary, at the exit, and some require a vignette glued to the windshield in advance. It is no wonder that it is so difficult for an inexperienced traveler to figure out to whom, how and how much he should pay.
Toll roads exist in almost all European countries. The only exception can be considered only Germany, and even then there is talk about the monetarization of the famous German autobahns.
In some countries, the driver will have to pay as much as the kilometers he leaves behind. Before entering the road, he will receive a ticket, the reading machine at the exit will show the distance traveled and the amount required for payment. Such a system has been established in the following states: France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Spain.
In Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, the time periods are taken as a basis - from a week to a year, within which the car is allowed to travel on the Autobahn. In these countries, payment is controlled by a vignette, which indicates the start and end dates of its validity. The easiest way for a traveler to get such a vignette is at gas stations before entering the toll highway. If you could not find your bearings in time and accidentally entered a toll road, do not hope for luck, you will hardly be able to slip through unnoticed. Take the first exit or the gas station you meet, because the fine for unpaid travel sometimes exceeds the cost of the vignette itself by 10 or more times. In some cases, the penalty can be up to EUR 800.
It is easy to find out the toll road sections. They are usually warned in advance by large signs with the inscription Maut or Vignette. Those that imply payment on the spot will simply not be able to drive unnoticed. Usually the road widens, turns into a large checkpoint with several corridors. You should choose the one that matches the parameters of your car.
In addition, in many countries there are sections of roads, tunnels and bridges, which have to be paid additionally. In Norway alone, there are about 140 such track sections.
