Germany and Speed Limits

For the non-Germans, this is a topic that comes up very quickly upon your arrival in Deutschland, and you go to a memorization process because it really does matter, and you have seconds to react to each limit.

For autobahn travel....there's typically four levels:

1.  Unlimited.  Roughly two-thirds of German autobahns are in this category.  In urbanized zones, it won't exist....so you tend to notice a good bit in Bavaria and in the east of country.    When they say unlimited....it means while in safe weather conditions, otherwise, you need to drive at a safe limit.

2.  130 kph (80 mph).  On the outer barrier of urbanized zones....these pop up.

3.  100 kph (62 mph).  You've arrived in a urbanized zone along the autobahn with heavier traffic and rapid movement to turn-offs. 

4.  60-80 kph (37 to 50 mph).  Typically, this is a construction zone on the autobahn.  The chief encounter that you make is that of the two lanes....one is designed more for wide vehicles (like trucks and buses) and the other is 2.2 meters and is a serious challenge with your larger sized SUV vehicles.

No one keeps real statistics on speeding tickets, but you can figure most tickets normally fall into two categories....you were driving over the 100 kph limit, or you were excessively speeding in the construction zone.   

On secondary roads or streets....there's typically four levels:

1.  100 kph (62 mph).  Always on state roads (not urbanized areas). 

2.  50 kph (31 mph). Once you see a city limits sign....that's the magic 50 kph point.  Unless the city has some expressway cutting through the middle of town.....50 will always be limit.

3.  30 kph (18 mph).  This is always a highly residential area....kids on the street, etc. 

4.  15 kph (10 mph). Generally a school zone.

I bring this up because I sat and read through the Wiesbaden police blotter this morning....two drivers noted yesterday in the city limits (50 kph).....doing 130 kph.  It's awful rare that someone gets this stupid, but both end up with a loss of the license for a minimum of 90 days....a fine between 600 and 700 Euro....and likely being forced into some driver refresher course (meaning a couple of hundred Euro for a private instructor to tell you how stupid it is to speed).  Then there's the matter of points.  Serious point accumulation.....meaning they get one more speeding situation in a year or some fail-to-stop ticket....then you lose the license for a year. 

In the German system, driving is nothing to take as a joke.