How fast may you drive on the Autobahn?

There is always a speed limit: You are never allowed to drive faster than is safe according to road and weather conditions, traffic, your abilities, and your car’s ability. I remember two very expensive cars in two weeks being written off because they didn’t stay on the road at 270 km/h (170 mph), and both got fined for speeding. Because obviously when you can’t manage to stay on the road then you were driving faster than was safe.

At 130 km/h (about 80mph), if you are involved in an accident then it is your fault unless you can prove that the accident would have happened at lower speed as well. So if you go at extreme speed, you better make sure you’re alone on the road, because even if someone else makes a grave mistake, an accident would be your fault.

And Germans don’t mind you going at high speed, but they (drivers and police) absolutely hate people tailgating. If you come to a bridge over the motorway and see cameras, they are not measuring your speed, they are measuring the distance to the next car.

The simple answer to this old question is simply:

1. On some of the autobahn network, for some stretches, the speed is in fact unrestricted. On these stretches, there is no speed limit – drive at any speed. If you have a 500 mph car you can drive at 500 mph.

2. On most parts of most of the autobahn, speed limits are simply posted, like any other country.

It’s that simple.

The “popular myth” is that “there are no speed limits on the autobahn”.

The reality is simply that some sections here and there have no speed limit; the rest simply have normal posted speed limits. (Typically about 130 km/h, just like other places in Europe.)

To repeat, it is true that (only) on the unrestricted stretches, you can simply drive at any speed whatsoever, there is no limit whatsoever.

(To give you a sense of it, the “unrestricted” sections where you can go at any speed, are usually at most 30, 40, 50 miles unbroken. Then there will be a section again with normal 130 speed limit, then again maybe an unrestricted section, and so on.)

You can google 1,000 web pages where people discuss what is the longest unrestricted section currently, what section of the autobahn has usually the higehst speeds, where today is it best to go extremely fast in my new Veyron, etc etc.

Some information added to the answer of Peter:

• Yes, if there are no signs or this sign, there is no speed limit. There are some
  videos on Youtube about driving superbikes in excess of 300 km/h (186 mph).

• You will normally not be able to drive such speeds as the traffic density in Germany
  is very high. On the right side you will often see seemingly endless columns of
  trucks (with the exception of Sundays and public holidays). The middle line is then used by normal cars, but
  if the right side is clear, there is an obligation to use this lane. Do not be surprised that many cars ignore this, it is a pretty bad habit in Germany. If you do not follow this (20 seconds being on the wrong lane), the police can fine you with 80€.

• The autobahn are accessed by acceleration lanes. You will accelerate your car to get a comparable speed (with is something about 100 km/h (60 mph). Normally they are long enough to filter in (it is a polite habit giving way by changing the lane to the left if you see cars are approaching on the acceleration lane) but if you run out, DO NOT STOP AT THE ACCELERATION LANE !!! a) You have no room to speed up in time and b) cars will not expecting you. The right way is to use the emergency lane to get into a gap as fast as possible. Unfortunately sometimes they are shortening the lanes for road works so it can get pretty ugly…in this case exercise caution and try to get into the gap with as a small speed loss as possible.

• While still a bad habit, overtaking right is forbidden and costs you 100 €.

• Please use your indicator early enough if you are changing direction. Driving at high speeds give other people much less reaction time to anticipate your maneuvers.

• Accidents and crashes. In contrast to e.g. the USA, it is strictly forbidden by law to punish helpers for wrong first aid, even if you medical personnel in private. Moreover, people have the obligation to help by law if they are able to (max. 1 year prison for not helping). So if you see an obvious emergency, drive behind the crashed car as far on the right side as possible, inform the police/ambulance (112), put out your warning triangle and then try to help.
  DO NOT TRY TO HIT AND RUN if you are responsible for an accident. This will automatically cancel your driving license and is severely punished with up to 3 years in prison.

• Offense. The same laws apply to both Germans and foreigners. Fines must be paid, but the most interesting part is when you will lose your driving license.

  • Driving more than 40 km/h faster than allowed
  • Hit and run
  • Driving intoxicated
  • Attacking or endangering other people
  • Tailgating with less than 0,15*speed in meters (less than 15 meters for 100 km/h)
  • Trying to turn or driving backward

• Drinking. On all roads including autobahns 0.3 per mille will cause you automatically trouble if a crash happens, 0.5 per mille is forbidden.

• Still bad habits: Be not be surprised if some people are reacting overly angry. That means a) driving nearly against you, tailgating and blinking lights if you are too slow on the left lane. This includes insults and showing you the finger. Simply ignore it.

The statement ‘there is no speed limit on the Autobahn’ is not really correct. I couldn’t find any official statistics, but I’ve seen a number of only 50% of German Autobahns without any limit.

Many parts have a permanent limits of 120 or 130 km/h (74 mph or 81 mph). Some parts are limited to 80 (50 mph) due to construction work.

Also, some limits are only for wet roads. Finally many parts have dynamic speed limit signs that change based on the traffic situation.

Even though there is no general limit for the 50%, there is a recommended speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). If you are going much faster and there is an accident, it is more likely you are blamed for it (if you survive it, which is unlikely).

Autobahn police can still pull you over for reckless driving or driving too fast in certain situations even when there was no limit.

How fast may you drive on the Autobahn?

This really depends on the situation, there are some stretches in less populated areas that get relatively light traffic and you can drive 200 km/h (125 mph) with no problem. It also depends on the time of day. There is rush hour traffic that limits your speed anyways. Late at night it is usually empty and you can go fast.

It also depends on you car, it makes a big difference if you go 200 km/h in a big BMW or Porsche or a smaller older car. It is also much more tiring to go fast, you have to concentrate much more at 200 than 120 because any tiny mistake has much bigger consequences.

I had several friends visiting from overseas, renting a car and then were too scared to drive really fast. If you are planning to go fast, start with a speed you are comfortable with from home and then increase it over time. Don’t go 230 km/h (143 mph) as soon as you hit the Autobahn for the first time.

Note that there ARE actually some speed limits:

A hard limit is imposed on some vehicles:

• 60 km/h (37 mph)

  • Buses carrying standing passengers
  • Motorcycles pulling trailers

• 80 km/h (50 mph)

  • Vehicles with maximum allowed weight exceeding 3.5 t (except passenger cars)
  • Passenger cars and trucks with trailers
  • Buses

• 100 km/h (62 mph)

  • Passenger cars pulling trailers certified for 100 km/h
  • Buses certified for 100 km/h not pulling trailers

There are also speed restrictions around construction zones, for example.

Funnily enough, the police are there to pull you over for a variety of enforcement reasons – but in terms of speed – only for driving too slowly, stopping unnecessarily or driving in the wrong lane (there’s a fast/slow lane).

More information on being penalised for speeds and it’s worth noting that while there’s theoretically often no upper limit, ” the law forbids to travel at speeds that would prolong the vehicle’s minimum halting distance beyond the driver’s line of sight”.