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The Autobahn sign

The Autobahn is the national freeway system of Austria. Austrian Autobahnen have general speed limits of 130 km/h (80 mph). Since May 2006, a maximum speed of 160 km/h has been tested on a short stretch of Autobahn.

The first Autobahn in Austria was the A1 (called "Westautobahn") from Salzburg to Vienna. Building started on order of Adolf Hitler during World War II as part of the Reichsautobahn system, however only 3km had been completed by 1945.

Austria has 16 Autobahnen with a total length of 1677 km. The system is going to be expanded; one Autobahn is currently under construction, and two more are planned. Due to the relatively low density of population on the one hand and the situation of the country in the centre of Europe, its motorway density per capita is the highest in Europe. The cheaper Schnellstraßen system supports the Autobahnen system. To use Schnellstraßen, a vignette or a Go-Box is also required. Schnellstraßen are very similar to the Autobahnen; the chief difference is that they are more cheaply built (for instance: they are not as straight as Autobahnen). These Schnellstraßen usually have a lower speed level of 100 km/h compared to 130 m/h on the Autobahn. Schnellstraßen fit better with the mountanous topography of Austria. The main link between the westernmost province Vorarlberg and Tyrol is entirely a Schnellstraße, including the 12,8 km long "Arlberg-Strassentunnel, completed in 1979.

Use of the Autobahn system requires the purchase of a vignette (toll sticker) for passenger cars or a Go-Box (electronic toll system) for trucks and buses. On routes which are more costly to maintain, mostly mountainous routes with tunnels, an additional toll is required which is collected at time of use via toll plazas. Vignettes are available in varying lengths of validity (10 days, 2 months or a year). A vignette valid for a year currently costs 72.60 EUR. Since 2004 trucks must carry a Go-Box, a little white box which counts the length of the Autobahn used by way of electrical control points. The Go-Box is queried by overhead DSRC microwave radio transceivers at different locations. As only trucks need to carry a Go-Box, overhead 3-D infrared laser scanners are used to detect and photograph trucks travelling without the Go-Box.

Autobahnen in Austria may only be used by powered vehicles that are designed to achieve a maximum speed exceeding 60 km/h.

• Autobahnen und Schnellstraßenfinanzierungs AG company, which maintains the Autobahnen and Schnellstraßen in Austria (wholly owned by the Republic of Austria).