Driving in Germany

Many people visit Germany just to drive fast on German Motorways (Autobahns), and yes there are certain sections on German Motorways (Autobahn) where you can legally drive as fast as you can. But speed also kills and there are rules and regulations that must be followed to ensure safety on the roads. Driving is a privilege, not a right. This privilege may be withdrawn if a driver fails to show responsibility or care for his or her own safety or for the safety of others while driving.

Germany is birthplace of the first automobile and it's high-speed track "Autobahn". Despite having very good cargo railway system and national shipping cargo, roads in Germany are often jam-packed with heavy cargo vehicles. But there are certain hours and routes where you can enjoy high speed driving on German highways. Inside cities, however, there are very strict laws about speed.

German driving schools teach their students in such a way that drivers should be on alert and be ready to recognize typical errors committed ofttimes by other drivers and be able to cover those errors. Drivers are responsible for considering and anticipating the movements of pedestrians, particularly children, the elderly, and those who are physically impaired.

Despite their highspeed traffic, Autobahns are considered safe driving zones. They have 11% of road fatality rate, while Autobahns share 34% of countrywide traffic. Due to the central location of the country in Europe, in recent years more and more cargo traffic has shifted from rail to road. So, driving between slow-moving heavy trucks (which are not allowed to exceed the limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) ) and suddenly approaching high-speed cars which can be 250 km/h (155 mph) or even more, needs a strict following of rules and mutual understanding. It is very important for foreign / visiting drivers that they must know the rules and regulations about driving in Germany, specially highspeed driving on Autobahn.

Section 1: Driver's licence