The figures speak for themselves: 38% of all bike ban signs produced worldwide end up in Austria, and the trend is rising. No other country has such a high demand. But now the country is in dire straits due to the war in Ukraine. Austria obtains practically all of its traffic signs from Ukraine and almost all of the aluminium for the special plates comes from the now severely damaged smelting plant in Zaporizhia. No more deliveries have been possible from here since November 2022, and an alternative has not been established in the meantime.

On average, 37 new bike ban signs are installed in Austria every day, supplied from the central warehouse in Regau, Upper Austria. The last board was delivered on April 1, 2023 and the stock has now been reduced to zero. "We have been experiencing a real state of emergency since mid-March," explains Klemens-Maria Sumpl. The press spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Justice now fears a significant restriction in law enforcement.

The problem has now found its way to the highest levels of politics. The opposition FPÖ accuses Justice Minister Olma Sadic of not having her cabinet under control and is calling for her resignation because she cannot enforce the law in such elementary areas. The umbrella organization for hunters, "Jagd Österreich", and the Austrian Farmers' Association are blowing the same horn.

The extent of the emergency in Austria can be seen in the province of Carinthia. The first boards were discovered here that had been stolen in Slovenia and freshly installed in Austria. This has also been noticed in Appenzell in Switzerland, where bike ban signs have been electronically monitored since April 1st to prevent theft from nearby Vorarlberg.

It remains to be seen how long the state of emergency will last in Austria. No alternative supply chains for the special alloyed aluminum sheet have yet been established. The Austrian judicial authorities are expecting a tricky summer of 2023 and are warning against vigilante actions.