Germany is famous the world over for its Autobahn — also known as "the highway without speed limits." But that's not the case everywhere. Here are some tips for navigating it.
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How to navigate the German Autobahn
Germany is famous the world over not just for its cars, but also for its highways. Here are some tips before you put the pedal to the metal.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
The sky's the limit
The only country in the European Union without a general speed limit on many parts of its highways, Germany has an excellent network of motorways. They are generally well-maintained, inviting you to explore them. The minimum age for obtaining a learner's license with a legal guardian present in the car in Germany is 17. An unrestricted car driver's license can be obtained at age 18.
Image: Imago/Horst Galuschka
Not a Nazi invention
The A555 between Cologne and Bonn was Germany's first "intersection-free motor road." Konrad Adenauer, mayor of Cologne and subsequent West German chancellor, officially opened the first section in August 1932 — clearly negating the frequent assumption that the Autobahn was a Nazi invention, as the Nazis didn't come to power until the following year.
Image: dpa/picture-alliance
Bracing yourself
According to statistics by ADAC, Germany's national automobile association, German roads experienced a record 745,000 traffic jams in 2018, due to more cars on the highway and increased construction sites. The number of traffic jams haven't been quite as high since the COVID pandemic started, as many people continued to work from home.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
Tailgaters
Even when you think you're soaring down the Autobahn, you may get the distinct impression it's still not fast enough. Some German drivers may drive right up behind you and try to "push" you over. They may even flash their headlights to rattle your nerves. You aren't supposed to block the "fast" lane — the aim being to only use it for passing. But pushy drivers may still try to bully you!
Image: Marcus Führer/dpa/picture alliance
Smile for the camera!
Watch out for speed cameras! They are used widely in Germany, from the Autobahn to inner-city areas. The box-shaped devices are installed next to the road, and could catch you unawares. Should you be speeding, a ticket will be sent to your home, complete with a picture of you at the wheel and your license plate number. Sometimes, cars on the side of the road will record your speeding offense.
Image: Horst Galuschka/dpa/picture alliance
Cell phones a no-no
Holding a cell phone in your hand while driving is an absolute no-no. If caught, you could be fined and get penalty points against your driver's license. Penalties spike up if you cause an accident, and you could have your license revoked. Investing in a hands-free car kit is smarter. Penalties also apply to cyclists using their cell phones.
Image: Christin Klose/dpa/picture alliance
Make way for help
The same thing goes for not making way for emergency vehicles. Once traffic jams up, you are required to create a lane for ambulances and police to get through. If not, you block the emergency space, and you could be fined and get points against your license. The emergency lane is always between the far left and the rest of the lanes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
Be on the alert
You are also required to set up a warning signal should you break down or have an accident. This means placing an orange metal triangle on the road, donning a fluorescent jacket, both of which you must have in your car. You must also have a first-aid kit stored in your vehicle, and since February 2023, the kits must contain two surgical masks.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Driving under the influence
In Germany, there's zero alcohol tolerance for beginners, those under 21, as well as for professional drivers. There's a 0.05% blood alcohol content (BAC) limit to driving under the influence. Penalties start at a €500 ($623) fine, points against your license, license suspension, or worse depending on the alcohol level in your blood. Limits also apply to cyclists. Best bet: Don't drink and drive!
Image: Gero Breloer/dpa/picture alliance
Snow tires
Snow tires are required once streets become slick with slush, ice or snow. In Germany, the rule of thumb is that this can occur anytime between October and Easter. Should you not have snow tires installed on your car and still drive on slippery streets, you could be fined and have points taken off your license. Without proper snow tires, your insurance may also not cover an accident.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kästle
A relaxed approach
To navigate both the German Autobahn and city streets, the best approach is a zen one: take your time and don't let yourself get frazzled. Besides, with an expansive train and public transportation system in the country, you might not even want to hop into your car, but board a train and put up your feet!
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
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As people hit the streets for summer fun, we take a renewed look at German roads.
Germany has its beer and sausages, its sauerkraut, its Christmas markets, and all the other things that people abroad call to mind when they think about the country. And, of course, there is the Autobahn. Adventurous, speed-craving tourists think they can rent a car, jump in and drive without speed limits across the national highway network. What a way to travel!
And they can do that — sometimes. After all, Germany is the only European nation to not have a general speed limit.
However, there is a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph) across about 30% of the Autobahn network, according to ADAC, Germany's national automobile association — and that is usually in some of the busiest places. Further restrictions apply near construction sites, dangerous stretches with curves, and in and around cities.
On the unrestricted segments, there is a speed blanket "recommendation" of 130 kilometers per hour.
Germany is also known for its fast carsImage: DW
Speed limits are a touchy issue
Why there are no limits on the other 70% of highways has in the past had to do with the power of the German automobile industry's lobby, said Thomas Harloff, in an article in Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung.
After all, the country is known for its fast, extremely well-engineered cars — a reputation that is a major selling point. Allowing those cars to fly across German highways without restriction "justifies their right to exist" in the first place, noted Harloff.
While times are changing, speed restrictions on the Autobahn remain a touchy issue among Germans. ADAC posted on its website in February 2023 — quoting a survey from 2022 — that a slight majority of its own members is in favor of a general speed limit: 52% in favor, as to 44% opposed.
Addicted to speed: bracing yourself on the AutobahnImage: DW
Those in favor say, among other things, that driving would be more relaxed on highways. More importantly, they say that reduced speeds could result in fewer fatal accidents.
ADAC contests that notion, saying that 60% of all fatal accidents occur not on the Autobahn, but on rural roads, where the maximum speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) tops, and is often even 70 km/h (44 mph).
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing is hammering out a plan that would speed up the expansion of the Autobahn network, and that would include over 140 Autobahn projects across the country, 66 of those in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
The plan, however, has been extremely contentious among political parties and various German states. The Green Party wants solar panels installed along new Autobahn lines, and the draft also foresees better bike paths along routes.
Meanwhile, in the past few weeks, climate activists from the Last Generation group have been staging protests in the German capital Berlin, even gluing themselves to roads to block traffic.
The group is calling for the establishment of a citizen's assembly to tackle climate change. They say it should discuss "how the use of fossil fuels can be ended in a socially just manner by 2030."
The group's other demands include a speed limit on motorways and an even lower-cost flat-rate tickets for public transport.
Quirky German car-related idioms
They can be used to describe someone who is furious, boring, too fast or too slow: Different German-language idioms include a reference to automobiles.
Image: Thomas Frey/imageBROKER/picture alliance
Blank stare
The popular German idiom "wie ein Auto gucken" translates as "to stare like a car." Picture automobile classics with headlights round as eyes, and a radiator grill wide as an open mouth: voila, that's what Germans say when someone gives them a really blank, perplexed look.
Image: Thomas Frey/imageBROKER/picture alliance
Slow down
"Einen Gang zurückschalten": If a German implores you to "change down a gear," they aren't worried about your driving skills. The idiom is rather a way of saying: take a step back, take a breather and take it easy.
Image: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa/picture alliance
Furious
In German, people who are fuming, furious and going ballistic might say of themselves, "Ich bin auf 180" (I have reached 180 kilometers per hour) — a high speed if you are driving on regular public roads, or even on the Autobahn.
The German term "Gas geben" simply means to accelerate, to "put the pedal to the metal." But it is also used for people prone to dawdling: if you're trying to hurry Germans up, tell them "Gib Gas!"
Image: Graham Oliver/PantherMedia/picture alliance
Killjoy
The German term "Spassbremse" literally translates as a "fun brake," and refers to a spoilsport, a person who keeps others from enjoying themselves by, for instance, reminding them of problems and rules.
Image: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance
Hit the road
The German idiom "Die Kurve kratzen" translates as "scrape the corner," and means to disappear as fast as you can. The figure of speech, some sources say, could go back hundreds of years, when coaches would scrape house corners as they turned into narrow lanes. "Die Kurve kriegen," however, means to manage something at the very last minute — a close shave.
Image: B. Wasiolka/blickwinkel/McPHOTO/picture alliance
In the fast lane
The German idiom "auf der Überholspur" — literally, "in the passing lane" — refers to people who assert themselves, get ahead in life. With the additional word "life" ("Leben auf der Überholspur"), it means "life in the fast lane" — a hectic, restless and potentially dangerous life.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Stein
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Dispelling myths
So, we can dispel the myth that there are absolutely no speed limits on German freeways — and while we're at it, we can dispel another commonly held notion: that Adolf Hitler initiated the construction of the Autobahn.
Konrad Adenauer, mayor of Cologne and subsequent West German chancellor, officially opened the first Autobahn section in August 1932. The Nazis didn't come to power until the following year. However, they did co-opt the Autobahn project, with Hitler accelerating the construction of the so-called "Third Reich" Autobahn. Click here for more on the topic.
Meanwhile, if you're planning to travel to Germany just to put the pedal to the metal, view the picture gallery in this article for some tips. After all, you need nerves of steel to maneuver the Autobahn and still stay safe!
