Driving in Germany from the UK

Driving in Germany is quite different to driving in the UK, in this video I cover some of the different rules including speed limits and priority to help prepare you for driving in Germany from the UK.

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The makers of this video cannot be held liable for any consequences caused by any information that is in any way inaccurate, misleading or missing. The makers of this video are not liable for any person's driving other than their own, it is the responsibility of the person driving a vehicle to ensure they drive safely and within the law.

00:00 What you need
02:16 Driving on the other side of the road
02:54 Winter tyres
03:16 Alcohol
03:34 Speed limits
06:26 Phones and speed camera detection
06:46 Accident rates
07:22 Fuel
07:49 Road signs
08:36 Priority
09:44 Autobahns
11:13 Road works
12:02 Low emissions zones
12:18 Toilets
12:49 More speed limits
13:32 Emergency number
13:41 Tolls
13:49 Parking
14:06 Cleaning your car
14:32 More autobahns
14:54 Outro

[Pkari]

German Tip: Never fuel on autobahns! Motorway prices are often 50cents above those in town per litre which can mean more than 20eur more per refill. It’s ridiculous and often avoidable with some planning. Fill up in town eg when getting to your hotel in the evening (when prices are lowest for the day), preferably E10 to stretch your cash

[Loadarine]

You should do more of these. Like one based in France or Spain for example

[jeremybayliss]

In Germany on the Autbahn when you hit congestion you have to pull up in the queue leaving appropriate space to allow emergency vehicles through

[superspelaren]

14:06 In Sweden where I'm from, this is banned here as well, and it's because cleaning your car in the driveway for example pollutes local lake waters. So therefore it's not allowed. 😀

[BlueMokke]

I have a little correction to make: You can turn right at a red light if there is a green arrow, after you stopped and made sure that no one wants to go in the same direction. Most people still roll slowly towards it and drive if there's no one.
I would be interested in the number of foreigners involved in Autobahn accidents because I assume some people from other European countries come here to drive the highest speed possible.

[murti]

I also want to add that its mandatory to have a complete preferably sealed first aid kit in ur car. Such kits can be bought at most gas stations or hardware stores.

[michaelpower]

Cleaning car at home in Germany is an environmental issue, no pollution in drains allowed

[tobeytransport]

3:33 just a little correction... it’s actually 0.08 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland... in Scotland it is also 0.05 like Germany. So if you are English going up to Scotland bear in mind the lower limit too! And if you are Scottish going to the continent, the limit is the same as at home.

[whatsgoingon]

9:30 the regular "no overtaking" sign applies to all motor vehicles, regardless, of the number of wheels. There is one with a lorry on the left side. This one applies to vehicles above 3, 5 tonnes.

[PointNemo]

Deaths per 100, 000 people is not a good method of calculating road safety without taking into consideration how much the average person drives. A country with higher car usage would appear to have more dangerous roads even if the deaths per mile were the same.

[jamesmcgilvray]

Brilliant video just what I needed. Thinking of taking a family to Germany keep it up. Thank you

[danielplayer]

hi Richard, i just want to say massive thanks, to your videos on learning to drive. it really helped with the areas i was struggling with. i picked up useful tips, on how to approach manoeuvres and how to correct yourself, if things start to go wrong. i started watching after i failed first time. i passed my test today and buzzing second time. so thank you for your videos. top legend, have a good easter richard

[aspiratedaloha]

Cheers! great quality chat and detailed info as always.
cool channel

[andrewmurray]

Nice vid, most useful. One addition - certainly in Bavaria you can't leave your car in idle either at the side of the road or in a car park, you must turn it off.

[the_sim_crafter]

14:25 as a german, I‘ve heard it‘s because the chemicals are dangerous for the environment.

[ninjaz]

Oh the timed speed limits... on the autobahn aroung Ingolstadt (a city between Munich and Nuremberg), there's one section that's 120/130 from around 21:00-06:00, and zone of the same speed from 06:00-21:00 - exactly the opposite! Also (and this took me a while to realise) there are often speed limits (often 70km/h) directly above a sign warning of traffic lights - the limit only applies until you've left the junction, at which point it no longer applies (usually back up to 100).
Now I like driving fast, but usually am in a relatively small car, although you'd be surprised how stable a Ford Fiesta is at +160km/h (100 mph)! Tip for people wanting long nice open stretches of autobahn, the A94 from Munich towards Austria has some really nice stretches with no limit, and seems to be relatively lightly travelled (at least on a Sunday mid-late afternoon), which is even less common than stretches without limits!

[artemkatelnytskyi]

I loved your video! Very precise and indepth, just like Germans would like :)

We have more similarities with Germany signs and rules wise than we do with the UK. For example, we also have a dimond sign, but it doesn't mean priority over vehicles on the right, it means priority road, meaning you have priority over other vehicles (right and left). I was confused and had to check, and trusting this German site, they have the same meaning for this sign as we do, and most other countries in Europe, to my knowledge anyway.

It is improtant to note though, if the priority road turns right or left you will see the sign bellow, where a thick line shows a priority road. IF priority road turns right and you want to go ahead, that means you and the car on the right are in even conditions - you are both on the priority road. THIS is where give way to the right rule works, you would have to give way to them. It makes sense if you think about it, because you are effectively crossing a priority road the same way you would when you turn left, but it can catch people out, because people see the diamon and assume they have priority over everyone.

Another point I'd like to make is the signs you see on traffic lights posts are backup signs. They work when the lights are off, or flash yellow.

I am not German, but I am 99% confident it works the same way in Germany. Germans are free to correct me.

[lisabeaumont]

So useful for my forthcoming trip. Lots of detailed info - much appreciated. :)

[christiankastorf]

You are allowed to drive on summer tyres in winter and on winter tyres in the warmer months BUT when you have an accident that is mainly or partly caused or just made more serious because of the "wrong" kind of rubber at your car's feet, your insurance will not be very happy about that and deny full payment. Winter tyres are softer and are therefore more adequate for cold conditions. Summer tyres get too hard in winter and that means they lose grip on the road, no matter what their profile is. And when it is hot a soft winter tyre will not hold your car steady in curves because it will bend sideways.

[SeanyAHardy]

Great video. I’m driving to Amsterdam and Germany next week so this was handy thanks.