A Hungarian Harley-Davidson rider paid a EUR 2,400 fine — equivalent to roughly HUF 1 million — on the spot in Austria after police said her motorcycle was 10 decibels louder than the level recorded on its registration document.
The woman knew her bike was not entirely compliant with regulations, but had not expected the breach to have such serious consequences. The case has sparked outrage among Hungarian motorcyclists, while a Hungarian living in Austria said the real question should be why anyone would travel to a country known for particularly strict checks on noisy vehicles with a modified motorcycle — and then seek to stir up anti-Austrian sentiment on social media.
Motorcycle exceeded permitted noise level
The incident took place in the Faaker See area of Carinthia during European Bike Week, a Harley-Davidson gathering. According to the rider’s account, police inspected the motorcycle for more than half an hour before carrying out a noise-level test.
According to the woman’s post, the measurement showed that the motorcycle was “only” 10 decibels louder than the figure recorded in its registration document.
At the end of the inspection, she was fined EUR 2,400, which she paid on the spot by bank card. The roadside technical inspection cost a further EUR 20, while the motorcycle’s number plate was removed and its registration document was withheld.
The rider was not, however, ordered to have the motorcycle taken away immediately. She was allowed to return to her accommodation under police escort, sparing her the additional cost of motorcycle recovery.
It was not “just” 10 decibels
A Hungarian living in Austria who responded to the incident pointed out in a Facebook post that the additional 10 decibels should not be dismissed as a minor discrepancy.
The decibel scale is logarithmic: according to the account, a 10-decibel increase represents ten times the sound intensity, while the human ear perceives the noise as roughly twice as loud. In other words, this was not a difference of just a few per cent.
The source said Austrian authorities, particularly in Carinthia and Tyrol, had for years been carrying out targeted checks on modified and excessively loud exhaust systems. During major motorcycling events, they apply a zero-tolerance approach.
She could have faced a far larger fine
Under Austria’s Road Traffic Act, fines for unauthorised technical modifications and excessive noise can reach as much as EUR 10,000. By comparison, the EUR 2,400 penalty was relatively moderate; it merely appears steep to a Hungarian pocket.
It is important to note, however, that the rider did not publish the official document relating to the fine. It is therefore impossible to establish with certainty which offences were involved, or on what legal grounds the final sum of EUR 2,400 was calculated.
The removal of the number plate and registration document was not an arbitrary act by the police either. In cases of substantial noise violations, Austrian regulations allow — and in certain circumstances require — authorities to prevent the vehicle from being used any further.
She knew the motorcycle was not fully compliant
One of the most significant details in the case is that, by her own account, the rider was aware that her Harley-Davidson did not fully comply with the regulations.
Despite this, she set off for the motorcycling event. That was why the Hungarian living in Austria raised the issue of self-reflection in her post. She argued that anyone planning to attend an event such as European Bike Week should take particular care to check local regulations in advance, since the authorities around Faaker See pay special attention to loud and modified motorcycles during the event.
Local residents also regularly complain about the motorcycle noise generated during the gathering, which can continue around the clock and places additional pressure on the police.
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Anti-Austrian sentiment spills over
The incident prompted furious reactions in Hungarian motorcycling groups. According to the account, the comments included anti-Austrian slurs, accusations of Nazism and a series of crude insults.
The author who responded to the incident said the original post had presented the case in an excessively one-sided manner and had mainly served to fuel hostility towards Austrian police. Meanwhile, the fact that the motorcycle had not been fully compliant in the first place — and that a 10-decibel excess constitutes a significant breach — had been pushed into the background.
She and several commenters stressed that, in their experience, Austrian authorities would have acted in exactly the same way against an excessively loud Austrian or German rider as they did against a Hungarian national.
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What a bunch of killjoys. Pathetic.
Being sensitive to sounds and noise, I understand and appreciate wanting to clamp down on vehicles such as this, but only if they are ridden/driven in urban areas rather than open roads in the country. However, the Austrian “police” takes a much more lenient approach to actual, often violent, crimes committed by the “new Europeans.” Nobody checks if they have a train ticket or bus pass. When they sexually assault someone, they are let off with a slap on the wrist because these are “cultural differences,” etc. But have a noisy bike? Woe betide you!
I wonder, if the bike would have been ridden by an illegal alien from Burkina Faso, would the ociffers have issued a fine, especially in this amount…
Replying to myself like a loser, but I’m wondering if anyone checks the decibel levels of the emergency vehicles’ sirens in Budapest. Some of them are loud enough to cause pedestrians temporary hearing loss.