Still 126,000 Vehicles in Austria with Black License Plates on the Road

The black Taferl are most commonly seen in Lower Austria, Styria, and Upper Austria. "In relation to all registered vehicles, it is still 1.7 percent," reported the Wiener Städtische Insurance on Thursday in a press release.

The license plates with a black background and white lettering were long considered the nation's business card, as the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser put it at the time. "The introduction of the white Taferl was primarily for safety reasons, as the stronger reflectivity reduces the risk of accidents," says Doris Wendler, CEO of Wiener Städtische Insurance.

Black Taferl in Austria: Lower Austria at the Top

Even though the high number of still valid black Taferl is surprising, they have been significantly declining in recent years. Five years ago, there were more than 165,000 vehicles equipped with a retro license plate, ten years ago more than 220,000. There was a small position swap among the top 3 federal states. While Lower Austria still ranks first with 36,665 black Taferl, Styria (24,269) and Upper Austria (24,254) swapped places. "It's not surprising that these three federal states are at the top, as many agricultural vehicles such as tractors or trailers are still equipped with the nostalgia Taferl," says Wendler. In Vienna, there are still 7,593 motor vehicles with black license plates on the road.

Colour Variety in License Plates

Apart from black and white license plates, there is a variety of differently coloured Taferl on Austria's roads. In addition to the blue test drive license plates, there are also green license plates for transfer trips. Since April 1, 2017, for example, license plates with a white background and green lettering have been issued for vehicles with pure electric drive or hydrogen fuel cell drive.

In Europe, there is still one country that continues to stick to black standard license plates: The Principality of Liechtenstein is the last European state and has no plans to change the colour combination, "because the Liechtensteiners are still convinced of their black control plates," as stated in the press release.

(APA/Red.)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.