Speed limitGermany
6. Speed limit
A speed limit is the maximum legal speed permitted on a road, lane or within a designated area. It may be established by general traffic law or indicated by fixed, variable or temporary traffic signs.
A speed limit is a maximum, not a target speed. Drivers must travel more slowly whenever traffic, visibility, weather, road conditions, vulnerable road users or the condition of the vehicle make the maximum permitted speed unsafe.
Wikimedia.org • Heini Woldschläger • CC BY
Which general speed limits should car drivers know in Germany?
For an ordinary passenger car without a trailer, the general maxima are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 100 km/h on ordinary roads outside them. Qualifying unrestricted Autobahn sections have no general car maximum, but an advisory 130 km/h speed applies. Obey signed restrictions and drive more slowly whenever conditions require it.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(1),(3),18; Annex 2, sign 274 and wet-road panel
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-V §§1–2: 130 km/h recommendation
Is Germany’s 130 km/h motorway advisory speed a mandatory maximum?
The official term Richtgeschwindigkeit means advisory speed. The 130 km/h recommendation is not itself a blanket legal maximum on an unrestricted qualifying section. A regulatory speed sign is binding, and the duty to choose a safe speed always applies.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(1),(3),18; Annex 2, sign 274 and wet-road panel
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-V §§1–2: 130 km/h recommendation
Start of a speed limit.
English • Traffic sign 274-60 • Maximum permitted speed of 60 km/h.
Deutsch • Verkehrszeichen 274-60 • Zulässige Höchstgeschwindigkeit 60 km/h.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Verwaltungsvorschriften-im-internet.de • VzKat, Anhang (Gesamtübersicht)
Image via Commons.wikimedia.org
Nach den amtlichen Vorgaben digital umgesetzt durch: Mediatus • Public domain • Source revision 2017-10-19. Wikimedia original unmodified.
End of the speed limit.
English • Traffic sign 278-60 • End of the maximum permitted speed of 60 km/h.
Deutsch • Verkehrszeichen 278-60 • Ende der zulässigen Höchstgeschwindigkeit 60 km/h.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Verwaltungsvorschriften-im-internet.de • VzKat, Anhang (Gesamtübersicht)
Image via Commons.wikimedia.org
Nach den amtlichen Vorgaben digital umgesetzt durch: Mediatus • Public domain • Source revision 2017-08-20. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Can a German motorway restriction apply only in wet conditions?
Yes. A supplementary panel reading bei Nässe makes the displayed restriction applicable in wet conditions. Read time, weather or vehicle conditions together with the speed sign; a conditional restriction must not be treated as an unconditional number.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(1),(3),18; Annex 2, sign 274 and wet-road panel
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-V §§1–2: 130 km/h recommendation

Traffic rules
Germany