Part of our Austria country profile · Last reviewed: July 2026
Austria runs road safety through a mature, multi-actor system: two federal ministries share the policy and enforcement roles, the nine federal states (Länder) manage most of the road network, a dedicated safety board and fund coordinate and finance prevention, and an unusually strong ecosystem of clubs, research bodies and NGOs surrounds them. This page maps who does what, with each organisation’s role and key output.
Government and public bodies
BMIMI, Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur) Austria’s transport ministry, carrying its current name since March 2025. BMIMI owns national road safety policy, including the Austrian Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, traffic law (StVO) and vehicle regulation. Two important bodies sit within it: the Austrian Road Safety Fund (Verkehrssicherheitsfonds, VSF), which finances safety projects using revenue from personalised number plate fees, and the Road Safety Advisory Council (Verkehrssicherheitsbeirat), which brings ministries, states and stakeholder organisations together. Key outputs: the national strategy, annual VSF reports and the StVO amendments this site reports on. Website: bmimi.gv.at
BMI, Federal Ministry of the Interior (Bundesministerium für Inneres) Responsible for the federal police and therefore for traffic enforcement nationwide: speed, alcohol, belt and phone operations, plus heavy vehicle checks. Its traffic department coordinates national enforcement campaigns, analyses fatal crash causes and represents Austria in ROADPOL, the European traffic police network. The BMI also publishes provisional crash and fatality figures ahead of the official statistics, which is why Austrian road death numbers often appear twice each January. Website: bmi.gv.at
Statistik Austria The national statistics office and the source of Austria’s official road casualty data, compiled on the international 30-day definition. Publishes quarterly provisional bulletins and final annual figures each spring. Its Statistik der Straßenverkehrsunfälle is the dataset behind our Austria profile. Website: statistik.at
The nine Länder (federal states) Since the transfer of the former federal road network, the states own and manage most non-motorway roads, set many local speed limits, run their own safety programmes and co-finance infrastructure treatments. Regional variation in road safety outcomes, such as Lower Austria’s consistently highest death toll, plays out largely on Länder-managed roads.
ASFINAG The state-owned motorway and expressway operator, financing itself through tolls and vignettes. Responsible for the design, maintenance, telematics and safety management of the highest-speed network in the country, including tunnel safety, variable speed systems and incident response. Austria’s motorways are among its safest roads per kilometre travelled, and ASFINAG’s engineering programme is a large part of why. Website: asfinag.at
SUB, Federal Safety Investigation Authority (Sicherheitsuntersuchungsstelle des Bundes) An independent investigation body within BMIMI that conducts no-blame safety investigations across transport modes and issues safety recommendations. Its explicitly non-judicial mandate mirrors the approach long used in aviation.
AUVA, Austrian Workers’ Compensation Board (Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt) The social insurer for occupational accidents, which include commuting crashes. AUVA runs substantial prevention programmes on work-related road risk, from fleet safety to cycling campaigns, making it one of Austria’s quiet heavyweights in prevention funding.
Research and expertise
KFV, Austrian Road Safety Board (Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit) Austria’s central road safety research and prevention institution, active since 1959, and the organisation international readers most often encounter as “the Austrian road safety body”. KFV conducts crash research, behavioural observation studies (belt, helmet and phone use), evaluations and public campaigns, and represents Austria in European research networks including ETSC’s benchmarking work. Its analyses appear throughout Austrian road safety debate, most recently on e-scooters, e-bikes and child casualties. Website: kfv.at
FSV, Austrian Research Association for Roads, Railways and Transport (Forschungsgesellschaft Straße-Schiene-Verkehr) The technical standards body that writes the RVS guidelines, the design rules Austrian roads are built to. Where the Safe System becomes concrete geometry, cross-sections and junction design in Austria, it does so through FSV documents.
TU Graz, Vehicle Safety Institute Austria’s leading academic centre for crash research and vehicle safety engineering, known internationally for in-depth crash investigation and biomechanics work, including research on motorcycle and child safety.
Große schützen Kleine (Austrian Committee for Child Accident Research) A Graz-based child injury prevention organisation working closely with paediatric medicine. Its research and campaigns cover child restraints, school journeys and playground-to-road risks, and it is a frequent voice when, as in 2025, child casualty numbers rise.
Mobility clubs and advocacy
ÖAMTC (Österreichischer Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club) Austria’s largest mobility club, with over two million members, and far more than a breakdown service: ÖAMTC is a member of the Euro NCAP consortium, runs the country’s best-known child seat and product tests, operates driver training centres (Fahrtechnik) and an air rescue service, and is an influential policy voice. In current debates it leads the call for an age-independent helmet requirement for e-bike and e-scooter riders. Website: oeamtc.at
ARBÖ (Auto-, Motor- und Radfahrerbund Österreichs) The second national mobility club, historically linked to the labour movement, providing breakdown services, consumer advice and its own road safety campaigning.
VCÖ (VCÖ, Mobilität mit Zukunft) Austria’s sustainable mobility organisation and the most prominent advocacy voice for walking, cycling, public transport and lower speeds. VCÖ publishes frequent data analyses, including the motorcycle and rural road findings cited in our Austria profile, and campaigns for 30 km/h defaults and safer streets for vulnerable road users. Website: vcoe.at
Radlobby Österreich The national cycling advocacy federation, campaigning on cycling infrastructure, passing-distance rules and the legal framework for everyday cycling.
Walk-space.at The Austrian pedestrian advocacy association, focused on walkability, crossing safety and the pedestrian dimension of urban planning.
International connections
Austria’s system plugs into the international architecture described in our global guide, [Who’s Who in Global Road Safety]: EU membership brings vehicle regulation (including mandatory ISA and driver monitoring in new types) and EU road safety targets; Austria is a member of ITF/IRTAD, so its casualty data appear in the harmonised international database; the WHO European Region covers it in the Global Status Report; the BMI’s traffic police work within ROADPOL and its enforcement calendar; KFV participates in ETSC’s PIN benchmarking; and ÖAMTC connects Austria to Euro NCAP and the FIA family.
How to read the Austrian system
A one-paragraph map: BMIMI writes the policy and the law, the BMI’s police enforce it, Statistik Austria counts the results, the Länder and ASFINAG build and run the roads, the VSF funds prevention, KFV and the universities supply the evidence, and the clubs and NGOs, from ÖAMTC to VCÖ, contest and drive the public debate. The structure is dense but functional, and most of the tensions in Austrian road safety politics, helmet rules, rural speed limits, e-scooter regulation, play out between the actors on this page.
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