# Do's and don'ts of the German Autobahn



## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

_-pic tmaung_

The Autobahn in Germany is one of the big attractions to hit when doing a European Delivery. It may be the only time you get to travel at well over the US speed limits, on a highway, without getting a ticket and probably losing your license. While there is a recommended, self-regulated limit of 80 mph, you can still push well beyond to see what your car is capable of. Germany's AutoBild put together a quick Do's and Don'ts (mostly don'ts) list to help keep visiting Autobahn drivers safe and penalty free. Most of it seems obvious, but reinforcing ideas never hurts. Here's one for US drivers: if you're not passing, stay out of the left lane. Anyway, on to the list:

_1. Tailgating is "verboten". Flashing your headlights to make that crawling car in front of you give way is considered coercion and an offense punishable by stiff fines and - possibly - jail terms of up to 3 years. You also might lose your license.

2. Never pass on the right. Also: if you pull into the left lane to pass a slower car on the Autobahn, you have to expect much faster cars to be coming up behind you, much faster.

3. Never stop on the emergency lanes. Unless, of course, it's an emergency, for instance if your car broke down or if someone in the car is getting ill. An empty tank could also be considered an emergency. Always remember: When getting out of the car on the emergency lanes, you have to wear the reflective vest (usually supplied in the trunk of the car); have your passengers stand on the safe side of the guard rails; secure your car by turning on hazard-signals, setting up a warning triangle and immediately call for help. Never stop on the emergency lane to make a phone call!

4. Making a U-turn on the Autobahn may cost you your life and is therefore prohibited under all circumstances. You become a so-called "ghost driver" should you make a U-turn endangering yourself and hundreds of other drivers. Penalties are drastic.

5. Notorious driving in the middle lane of a three-lane Autobahn is a breach of the "Rechtsfahrgebot", the law requiring you to always use the utmost right lane when driving. The law is supposed to avoid making frustrated drivers pass slower cars on the right. Staying constantly in the left lane - the "passing lane" - is also a violation against the "Rechtsfahrgebot" on the Autobahn.

6. When leaving the Autobahn, you have to use your signal around 200 to 300 yards before the exit ramp as a rule of thumb. However, this rule is hardly ever enforced. When entering the Autobahn, you must yield to traffic. Should you force your way in you might face stiff penalties. It is better if you accelerate briefly on the emergency lane before pulling out into traffic._

I'll add this to the list, since it was mentioned in their article: There is no real speed limit for over 50% of the Autobahn, however, there the 80 mph recommended speed limit I mentioned earlier. So you can go pretty much as fast as you want , but with higher speed comes higher risk and if you have an accident above 80, you become partially responsible, even if you were following all other traffic rules. Always drive safely.

_Source Autobild_


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## WaxComb (Oct 11, 2011)

Regarding #5.

When I'm above 180 kph (>110 mph), I normally stay in the middle on a 3 lane stretch because staying in the right most lane feels very dangerous. I've had enough people pull out in front of me when I'm screaming along on a derestricted part for me to slam on my brakes. On a two lane stretch, I'll move over to the right most lane but on a 3 lane stretch...

Also, when I'm above 180 I'm usually doing the passing and it's very very rare to get passed.

I forgot to add my comfortable speed is somewhere between 195 kph and 210 (or 250 depending on the car).

Also, I forgot to add the autobahn south of Koblenz near Adenau has speed limits where the middle and left lane has a higher speed limit than the right lane (120 and 80 I believe). I drive on the middle lane on those too.

*********

That being said I encountered a middle lane driver going 130 and it was pretty frustrating trying to pass when people wanting to 150 are wanting to pass. (Derestricted section of course.)


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## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

If you were doing 180 in the US, there would always be that Corolla that needs to go just a little faster, and tries to keep up.


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## Kamdog (Apr 15, 2007)

Before you decide to just go all out on the autobahn, take a fair amount of time in the right lane getting used to the speed. You have to look much further ahead, and identify fast cars moving up on you that are much further behind you.

It takes some getting used to when you find yourself going fast on the highway, say 100 mph, and then have another car pass you going 50 or more mph than you are going.

You must increase your situational awareness before you tackle the higher speeds.


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## WaxComb (Oct 11, 2011)

Kamdog said:


> Before you decide to just go all out on the autobahn, take a fair amount of time in the right lane getting used to the speed. You have to look much further ahead, and identify fast cars moving up on you that are much further behind you.
> 
> It takes some getting used to when you find yourself going fast on the highway, say 100 mph, and then have another car pass you going 50 or more mph than you are going.
> 
> You must increase your situational awareness before you tackle the higher speeds.


That's exactly right. Every time I see a line of 2 or more cars in the right lane following each other closely my butt puckers up just a bit. Especially if the last or middle is a Golf.

I don't know what it is about Golfs and changing lanes w/o looking.

Actually, 2 cars following each other on the right lane is fine (because the rear car can see you). The 3 car line is scary because the middle car may not see you. I've had my share of middle cars pop left, see me coming in fast, and immediately pop right.


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## zkiifreak (Oct 22, 2014)

Advice from a neighbour from DK: Keep your eyes as much on the rear view mirror as out the front window! The other cars are coming on VERY fast from behind! And double check in the rear view mirrors before leaving for the left lane! The Audi's (God forbid them) and Porsches are compensating for their choice of cars by going faster 
And another one: some places on the autobahn DO have speed limits. And you will see the residents apply their brakes when going into these stretches of autobahn. They are really "ordnung muss sein"! If the sign says max 130 kph, they only go that limit and so should you. But when the limit is removed further down the road, you WILL see them move their foot from the brake to the gas pedal!


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## bruza (Sep 3, 2010)

Kamdog said:


> Before you decide to just go all out on the autobahn, take a fair amount of time in the right lane getting used to the speed. You have to look much further ahead, and identify fast cars moving up on you that are much further behind you.
> 
> It takes some getting used to when you find yourself going fast on the highway, say 100 mph, and then have another car pass you going 50 or more mph than you are going.
> 
> You must increase your situational awareness before you tackle the higher speeds.


This is key right here. I just completed my second ED last week on a '15 M5 so driving the Autobahn didn't require as much adjustment as my first ED 3 years ago.

It's unfortunate we can't drive the cars to full capacity here. :tsk:

Good thread though :thumbup:


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## mgthompson (Oct 14, 2007)

The most dangerous thing on the Autobahn is the trucks. Many are restricted to 80 or 100 kph and usually stay in the right lane. If a truck is going just 1 kph faster than the one they are approaching they will pull out and pass. This is called an elephant race because it will take sometimes several minutes for the truck to pass. It can be really exciting to have a truck pull in front of you when you are going 100+ kph faster than they are.


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## hyperzulu (Jul 12, 2011)

I noticed even normal passenger vehicles pulling into the left lane to pass when cars on that lane were coming up from behind moving very quickly. Countless times I saw this and it happened to me as well. I got the idea that if you're going 130mph and someone is doing 80mph behind a car on the right doing 70mph, they will get in your lane and it's really up to you as the faster driver to be aware of the average speed on the road for cars around you and be prepared to stop. Not everyone will politely wait for you to pass, nor will they speed up to move out of the way quicker.


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## WaxComb (Oct 11, 2011)

Here's a list of things that I do instinctively (yes, even in the US) after driving on the German Autobahn semi-regularly for the past couple of years:

- Check the rear view and side view mirrors with a lot more scrutiny before changing lanes.
- Move all the way over to the right (except for my exception in Germany where I'm traveling much much faster than the flow). This means I change lanes FREQUENTLY.
- Watch the behavior of cars that I'm coming up on (do they look like they want to pass?) and do that as far as I can see down the road.
- Signal my intent (!!!!!)
- Not tailgate (unless it's a left lane hog... which is still wrong). (Yes I know it feels like everybody in Germany tailgates, but I've seen enough close calls.)

Here's a list of things I had to stop doing after my first drive on a German Autobahn.

- Flooring it to over 100. (After my first drive, anything less than 100 felt really slow.)


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## sjpaul (May 22, 2013)

This is a great list of tips to keep in mind when driving on the Autobahn. It really is a unique experience, and you can't assume it will be just like the interstates here in the US!


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## dwlink (May 27, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> If you were doing 180 in the US, there would always be that Corolla that needs to go just a little faster, and tries to keep up.


So true - what is it with toyota drivers?


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## sfbayrealtor1 (Jan 19, 2006)

That is all


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## dpritchett (Sep 6, 2006)

sfbayrealtor1 said:


> View attachment 481389
> 
> 
> That is all


Now that is a great picture!


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## pucelle (Mar 18, 2011)

I'm not sure if construction is still going on but when I was there in October almost all the autobahn's had stretches under construction. Staying inside those slightly narrower yellow lines seemed to be an issue with most of the drivers I saw and good luck trying to pass especially a truck. It was the only time I ever saw people drive 10 under the speed limit the whole time I was there.

I didn't drive enough to get past the break-in phase so I maxed out at 100mph and I totally loved that the Heads Up Display told you when the speed limits changed.


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## Pavone (Oct 1, 2014)

in Germany there are always a lot of roadworks!

good tips here btw! German autobahn is indeed one of a kind, if i'm doing 100 mph in Belgium i'm the fastest almost always, in Germany that's like 'moderate speed', and ye in the left lane you must check mirrors a lot even at 120 mph 

must say, better drivers in Germany than anywhere i've driven


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## MSgtMel (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks for the update, but have a couple of questions/comments. First, it seems that the populace has in general slowed down since last living in the area in the 90s; they used to average 90mph - typically I'd do 100-110 mph. But mainly, when did flashing the lights to warn others about your presence become a finable offense? After all if your doing about 180kph and passing someone in the middle lane doing 120kph and someone back 5km up the hill is flashing while doing 250+kph it doesn't take a whole lot of time for them to scream past as nothing but a low slung blur! Been there, done that on the A-5 between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. Still don't know what the heck it was, I was doing 120mph and it went by with such a differential in speed that all that was seen was that it was low and red and GONE!!! MMM pleasant memories.


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## inktomi (Nov 20, 2014)

+100!! Just got back from my ED trip for my 235 - got a great test of my brakes when a truck pulled out to pass another without signalling. Very nearly got to test our ED insurance.

Beware of trucks, since they might not always beware of you - and you're likely to be going twice their speed.



mgthompson said:


> The most dangerous thing on the Autobahn is the trucks. Many are restricted to 80 or 100 kph and usually stay in the right lane. If a truck is going just 1 kph faster than the one they are approaching they will pull out and pass. This is called an elephant race because it will take sometimes several minutes for the truck to pass. It can be really exciting to have a truck pull in front of you when you are going 100+ kph faster than they are.


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## MSgtMel (Feb 23, 2011)

Amen! Unfortunately, I think the American GI in Europe has taught them more bad practices than they have brought good ones home. Pulling out without looking or signaling is only one of them.


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## Mark K (Jun 5, 2010)

Sadly, my "Do not" list contains only items that I actually witnessed U.S. "drivers" do (in U.S.) more than just once or twice in my 14 years of driving in this country. It's sad state of affairs, but it is the truth. I obtained 2 DLs in 34 years I lived in Europe (I had to when I emigrated for the first time) before coming here, and am speaking from native European point of view. All of them are quite a big no-no even if it could seem trivial or even "normal" to average U.S. "driver". So ... here they are.

Do not:

- do anything other than drive. Please. Please. However innocuous it might seem considering "driving" habits of U.S. "drivers", even reaching for a bottle of water and unscrewing the tap is not such a good idea. Have your passenger do it if you must drink while driving.

- pass on the right. Never. Ever.

- pass other vehicles for more than 10 seconds. That's not passing, that's driving in the left lane.

- think that the car behind at 2 car lengths is tailgating you. They are driving, not shoveling Egg McMuffin into their pie-hole. It's OK, they will react and brake in time and will not rear-end you.

- even think about "brake checking" anybody you think is tailgating you. They are not tailgating.

- even think to "show them" and enforce the laws. You are not a cop, leave it to the police to enforce the laws. Let it go.

- even think to retaliate in any way because person behind you is "tailgating" (they are not, see point 4 above) and dares to flash their headlights at you. They are politely telling you to pass the vehicle on your right and stop driving in the left lane (see point 3 above)

- think that anything other drivers do that you don't like has anything to do with *YOU*. It doesn't. Nobody cares about you, what you drive, where you live, what's your income ... and so on. The traffic clockwork is what it is all about - a perfect machine. You are as irrelevant as other people around you.

Do:

- have a wonderful time while sharing the road with people who are actually driving and know how to drive.

About trucks: possibly the majority of the trucks are driven by non-Germans and, if you check license plates, are not registered in Germany. Keep 4 eyes on them, not just two.


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