In Germany there are some 18,000 kilometres of motorway with no speed limit. There is a trick to this figure: the German federal authorities count each direction of the motorway as a separate road. Whether it is 9,000 or 18,000 kilometres, no other European country has stretches of road without speed limits.
In Germany there are no tolls, all highways are free of charge for passenger cars. Heavy goods vehicles have to pay a vignette, which avoids toll booths and makes them the fastest roads in Europe.
According to the navigator manufacturer TomTom, the average speed on German motorways is around 125 km/h, which is very close to the recommended speed of 130 km/h. The same study revealed that around 30% of vehicles drive above the recommended speed. On one particular stretch of the A8 motorway, 10% of vehicles were travelling at more than 200 km/h.
Map of German Autobahns with no speed limit
The map below shows which German motorways have no speed limit. The sidebar of the map contains the complete list of motorways for more detailed information on the start and end of each section.
Are German Autobahns safe?
The debate about the safety of German motorways is still open. German roads are among the safest in Europe, but it is true that sections without speed limits have a higher accident rate than other roads. The fact that there are no speed limits does not mean that there are no other rules, and the German authorities are very strict in their control. Safety on the road depends to a large extent on all drivers knowing and respecting the basic rules of the road.
- Drive in the right-hand lane whenever possible: German drivers are very respectful of this basic rule, which is one of the keys to smooth traffic flow on these roads.
- Always overtake on the left: another basic rule which we do not always observe and which is very important to respect on a road where we manoeuvre at high speed and always assume that no vehicle on our right is travelling faster than us.
- Rear-view mirrors and indicators: before making any manoeuvre, and especially before overtaking, it is necessary to make sure that no vehicle is approaching at high speed. In addition, all lane changes must be signalled in advance using the indicators.
- Respect speed limits: there are many stretches of road with speed limits for various reasons. Speeding more than 30 km/h in Germany can lead to a driving licence revocation. Sections with no speed limit are indicated by the ‘end of prohibition’ sign shown in the picture below.
