Driving in Germany

Briefing

Germany's autobahn network is the defining feature of driving here, and also the most misunderstood. There is no general speed limit on roughly 70 percent of the autobahn, but the Richtgeschwindigkeit (advisory speed) sits at 130 km/h under §1 of the Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-Verordnung.

The catch most foreign drivers miss: a 1992 Bundesgerichtshof ruling (VI ZR 62/91) means that if you crash above 130, your insurer can apportion partial liability for erhöhte Betriebsgefahr — increased operating risk — even when you didn't cause the accident. So "no limit" is not "no consequence".

Posted limits cover more of the network than tourists expect. The A9 around Munich, the A8 over the Schwäbische Alb between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, and the A10 Berliner Ring all have long Tempolimit-Strecken managed by electronic Schilderbrücken (gantry signs) that drop the limit dynamically during rain, fog or heavy traffic.

The A8 Stuttgart–Karlsruhe is also one of the country's worst Stau bottlenecks; ADAC's 2025 Staubilanz ranked it second nationally for summer congestion, with the climbs in the Northern Black Forest a persistent choke point.

In cities, Umweltzonen are now a single-tier system. Every one of Germany's 36 environmental zones — Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and a long list of mid-sized cities including the entire Ruhrgebiet — requires the grüne Plakette (Schadstoffgruppe 4).

Red and yellow stickers are no longer valid anywhere. Stuttgart, Munich and Darmstadt layer additional Diesel-Fahrverbote on top.

Two recent changes worth noting. The StVO-Novelle of November 2021 sharply raised parking and speeding fines; the figures below reflect that overhauled Bußgeldkatalog (last revised October 2024).

And as of 22 August 2024, the Sechstes Gesetz zur Änderung des Straßenverkehrsgesetzes introduced a THC blood-serum limit of 3.5 ng/ml — the first numerical cannabis-driving threshold in German law — with a €500 fine, one-month ban and two Punkte for a first offence. The Niedersachsen Section-Control pilot on the B6 near Hannover was switched off in early 2024 after Jenoptik stopped supporting the system, so average-speed enforcement is currently not in use anywhere in Germany.

Germany has no general car toll. The PKW-Maut was struck down by the ECJ in June 2019 (Case C-591/17) and has not been revived.

Trucks over 7.5 t pay the Lkw-Maut; private cars pay only on a handful of private tunnels such as the Warnowtunnel in Rostock and the Herrentunnel in Lübeck.