7 tips for driving in Germany

#DISTANTLANDS #TRAVELTIPS #GERMANY

Driving a car in Germany is a great way to visit smaller towns and natural wonders which aren't served by public transportation. But many people from other countries are intimidated to drive in Germany because of the Autobahn.

Here are seven tips for driving in Germany that will take the mystery out of driving there, and hopefully make driving on the Autobahn less intimidating.

1) What to know when renting a car: Reserve you car at least 14 days in advance for the best rate and availability. Base rates may not include VAT, location fees, or other surcharges, but they will include mandatory 3rd party liability insurance.

2) Automatic cars don't come...automatically
Most Europeans drive standard shift cars, most rental cars are stick shift. If you need an automatic, reserve well ahead of time. And, you'll probably pay more for the rental.

3) Yes, there ARE speed limits on the Autobahn!
There is an advisory limit of 130 kph, which is lowered to 80 kph where there are sharp curves, city driving, or interchanges. Some vehicles, like large trucks and cars towing trailers, have a maximum speed 80 kph all the time.

4) Turning left and right
There is NO turning right on red in Germany! And sometimes, to make a left turn, you have to drive straight through the intersection and make a u-turn shortly after.

5) Know your German road signs

6) The Blitzers are watching you!
Beware of photo speed traps, with cameras triggered by radar. They'll take a photo of you and your license plate, and a fine will be issued and sent to your rental car company. Your rental car company will pass the fine on to you, along with a charge for their trouble.

7) Driving on Sundays
Sundays are a GREAT day to drive on the Autobahn, as trucks aren't allowed on that day.

[globus]

Remember that you are allowed to drive 50km/h in built-up areas (Indicated by the yellow sign with the name of the village/city) and 100km/ outside build-up areas (indicated by the yellow sign crossed out by a red line). Those speed limits are only valid if there isn’t a different sign that shows a different speed limit. So 50km/h in cities/villages and 100 km/h outside cities/villages. (50km/h are 31 mp/h and 100km/h are 62 mp/h). Have fun and drive safe.

[RustyDust]

Always assume there is a much faster car approaching from the rear when you switch lanes to pass another vehicle. Make sure to always, Always, ALWAYS check your mirrors for high speed cars approaching BEFORE you switch lanes, or even BEFORE you use your indicators that you want to switch a lane. An indicator switched on by someone who believes that gives them the immediate right to pull over to the left can be cause for nealy a heart attack if the speed differential is somewhere along 100 km/h+ delta. Always use your indicator before switching lanes. But learn to gauge speeds of approaching cars correctly. Err on the side of caution instead of being the cause of an accident.

The only thing worse is pulling over and then immediately brake checking. THAT will get you some serious honks and flashing headlights on the Autobahn. In the worst case you will have someone squashing your spine to your steering wheel straight through your trunk and back seats cause you just caused an accident that was not only preventable but deliberate. And that will get you not only a serious fine in Germany, the cops might even invalidate your driver's license for that.

[helloweener]

Driving on the right lane on the Autobahn while you are not passing is not only recommend, it is the law.
There is a right turn on red in Germany but only if it is allowed by a sign (Grüne Pfeil, Green Arrow) or by a traffic light with the green arrow.

[SylviaBommesFan]

In german there is the Preisangabenverordnung, a rule which regulates how prices are displayed. It has to always include all price components (which are mandatory) . So every price is the end price.

[queenbadu]

Very informative and a big thanks to you but the background music is loud.

[JM_]

Technically 130 kph is not only advisory speed limit, it's also advised not to go slower. :)

[madmikesch]

First tip is wrong tax of 19% is allways included in the price. Prices without tax are not allowed in Germany.

[globus]

If there is a traffic jam on the Autobahn, all vehicles on the left have to drive as far left as possible and all vehicles on the right have to drive as far right as possible (without blocking the shoulder) to create an emergency lane. There is a 200€ fine for everybody not doing this.

[Djevan]

I went to Germany in 2017 and the rental car place at the Berlin Tegal airport forgot to give me the green certificate for insurnace.

[Djevan]

I went to Germany a few years ago and the rental car place at Berlin Tegel Airport didn’t provide me with that green sticker you were talking about

[TMTMmmmy]

"Välkommen", "Ålterlämning" and "Besökaren" isn't German. Don't know where this pic is taken, but not in Germany.

[Pobsta-dehb]

So much of this is either a little wrong or just not explained fully. It is not recommended to stay on the right, it is law. I guess though most of this video was very useful for people who do not know the things. Just for fun - Use of handheld devices is strictly prohibited in Germany but actually only if that device has mobile phone capability such as sim slot or you can use it as a phone, you can sit and watch youtube and browse anything you want all you like legally on a lap top or tablet as you drive, that does not have any kind of mobile sim slot or phone capability. Fact but stupid because of course in doing so you may get a ticket for distraction or not paying attention, but you wont get fined for hand held device law lol.

Also if you see a path that shows a rider on a horse then it is for horses only, UNLESS you crawl on your hands and knees, then you are allowed to use that path also, you can also take up to one passenger on your BACK down that horse only path, I promise you this is a fact lol

Anyway most of this was ok, I have lived here years now and blinkers are not that heavily used by Germans lol not nearly enough, oh and in parking lots there is no right before left rule, do not let German people tell you otherwise because they still believe that there is lol

[marcushyppy]

Drive aggressively, define aggression. Lol

[WarbirdFan]

lots and lots of mistakes in this video from a person with no personal experance!