Hello, German here. Many of the scenes shown are illegal in Germany. I like to drive fast, but safety first. Only overtake in the left lane, keep your distance (stopping distance approx. 400m at 200km/h!). take care of everyone No selfishness. Accept - or rather expect - that others make mistakes. Never had any problems on the Autobahn. Learn how to drive fast, take your time. Some say you're an experienced driver after 100,000 km... Don't try to drive 200 km/h on your first day, you have to get used to the speed, you have to learn bad bad situations - that means you have to survive first.
Im Dane and have driven many thousands of kilometres on the German Autobahn. It takes time to learn the rythm and you have accept the strict discipline it takes to drive fast. If you dont respect the rules and discipline, you can be certain the Germans will remind you! And the concept of we help each other making the traffic flow in order to go fast is awesome and unique for Germany. The Germans has managed to make fastest and safest motorway system in the world
Having driven on autobahns for several years whilst teaching in Germany this video is full of inaccuracies. There are many stretches of autobahn that are speed controlled, lane discipline is generally so much better but there are cases of ‘undertaking’ which are frightening at high speed, usually because some drivers hog the outside overtaking lane. Many of the original autobahns are still two lanes so speed restrictions apply.
Also from Germany here. Usually if everyone behave like they learned it, there should be no incidents because of speed. But you got often unexperienced drivers with to fast vehicles on the road. If you got a new motorbike license you need to drive a version of your bike with less horsepower for i think 2 years before you can go full power. But for cars that is not the case as far as i know. Most times the incidents are caused NOT by the speeding person... its caused by slower people that are sleeping... drive careless... dont look before changing the lane... because "usually" when you drive 200-300kmh... you are on the edge and concentrated... people that drive around with 100kmh... sometimes are so distracted that they much more often make errors...
I am so angry about this video from xplane. They showed so many dangerous and reckless driving situations that are completely illegal on the highway even on German Autobahn. You were absolutely right commenting "within reason, right? within reason?" YES, you always have to adapt your speed to the traffic, you are allowed to pass only on the left, you are not allowed to endanger other and you always have to have your car und full control and be able to stop within seeing distance.
Do not endanger others is the first rule of driving - literally. You just look into the StVO (roughly translates to regulation codex for public driving - it's a LAW!)
You think as an american. Germans can drive much better then Americans. The age of being able to get your drivers licence is 18, not 16 when they are still kids. To get a drivers licence it is WAY more strict and more difficult to get it like in the US and they are they get much more and more indepth training then in the US or even the Netherlands where am from. Most of them are also more gentleman then in the US where they are more selfish and more egocentric then in Germany during traffic. And they are more used to high speeds then us. My speed limit at german autobahn is 270km/h. You should visit Germany first before you can judge. One thing is true. Compared to the US there are much fewer accidents but IFF ther is an accident then it is deadly many times of what i have seen.
Exactly my thoughts. I'm baffled by the chosen clips in this somewhat 'documentary-style' Video about our Autobahn. Sometimes I wish that confiscation without compensation on such speeding would be coming faster like in switzerland. Grüße aus dem Rheinland :D
And? People are allowed to show dangerous and reckless driving situations, it's not like they're promoting anything illegal. I love how people get angry and being woke about something that doesn't really affect them, they're just footage.
I got my US driver's license in Los Angeles. On a Thursday I had the idea, on Friday I took the test and passed. That would be impossible in Germany. There I studied the exam questions every day for 3 months and it was still quite difficult to pass the exam. One reason (besides better driver training) why there are fewer accident fatalities is that we have the "TÜV" where the cars are inspected. New cars must be inspected after three years, after which the inspection interval changes to a two-year cycle. If the Tüv existed in the US, 50% of cars would be shut down. ;)
I got my german driver's license in Cologne. I had the idea last century as a child and my mom was showing to my piggy bank. A decade later, I payed the bill and passed the test. That would be impossible in United States. ☺️
Just to make it clear, the same process is in place on all other European countries. There's no "driving with parents", you need to pass the theory test with at least 83% to be allowed into the car with an instructor. They you drive several hours, learn parallel parking, starting uphill and so on, all on a manual transmission, only then to be allowed to take the practical test. Which people fail miserably. I know a lady who passed on her fifth or sixth time. Most of my małe friends had to try at least twice.
@@LMB222 Not quite correct, accompanied driving has also existed in Germany since 2004. You can start driving lessons at around 16.5 years (driving license at 17), but you need co-drivers who have had a driving license for at least 5 years, without points in Flensburg. And don't forget that everyone's driving license is issued on a probationary basis for a period of 2 years. If you are caught driving too fast during this time (or worse = e.g. drunk driving), you not only pay the fine, but you have to prove an additional test/training + extension of the probationary driver's license.
@@LMB222 This is wrong. In Luxemburg there is the driving with parents, where you can even start before you're 18, but you have to be enrolled in a driving school and have done a certain amount of hours with a driving instructor (no need to mention you have to do theory classed prior and pass the written exam). In Belgium in the other hand (or at least it used to be like that in 2010) you can enroll in a school, just do the written exam and only do the practical exam and boom you have your driving licence. That is the reason why most of these cunts can't drive, don t know the zipper rule (REIßVERSCHLUSSVERFAHREN), or always cut priority while entiring round-abouts. I heared France is/was similar, because in Luxemburg they fear more the Baquettes than the Fries ("French" Fries come from Belgium!), and even in Belgium the Baquettes are considered bad drivers. In the end only proper training and high expectations of knowledge of the laws (StVo, Coude de la route,... ) during exams lead to safer roads. Maybe also a variaty of other options that are reasonable, because why bother driving for x hours spent y minutes or hours looking for a parking, pay z amount of parking fees or risk getting towed, when you can travel by bus/train/tram/taxi/... for similar prices (or even cheaper) with barely more time for travel and having no stress?
Just to answer your question on speed limits in the US vs. Germany. You have to keep in mind, that to get a drivers license in Germany you are required to complete a full drivers course held by professional driving instructors in cars specially set up for this task (the instructor on the passenger seat has a full set of pedals and the car has extra mirrors, so that the instructor can take over control at any time). This entails multiple 45 minute sessions of driving which also includes a minimum of 12 special sessions (motorway, country road and night time driving) as well as a written and practical exam held by a 3rd party (usually the TÜV which would be equal to the entity in the US that is in charge of inspecting cars for road worthiness depending on what state you are in). On top of all that, from my experience in driving in the US, the highways would not permit this, as the road surfaces are partially not good enough. Especially when crossing bridges, the impacts on the wheels are really jaring at the low speeds that are permitted. Just imagine what these impacts would do to tires, suspension and spines at double or tripple the speed.
@@GoldenCroc germans are also much more disciplined in everything they do,driving being one of those things,having these autobahns,You must be a good and experienced driver to drive there
@@andreiionescu205 Yes and no. They do have rudimentary driving lessons, but quite often parents teach their children how to drive and thus pass on any bad driving habits or any existing ignorance about road rules or missing information on how to take care of the functions of the vehicle (combine this with many states having no mandatory checkups on roadworthiness and you can understand why so many junkers are driving on the roads in some videos on CZcams) down to their children along with any general knowledge on how to operate the vehicle.
Thats wrong. 1:10 1:20 1:30 2:04 2:20 2:36 2:48 7:00 7:55 are from Germany. Dascams are allowed. You just can`t film/record constantly and without reason. Its permissable for the cam to automaticly save the last Minute before and after an accident by G-Sensor or Button. Dascams sind erlaubt. Man darf nur nicht ohne Anlaß dauernd aufnehmen. Es ist zulässig, daß die Cam die letzten Minuten vor und nach einem Unfall automatisch per G-Sensor oder per Knopfdruck speichert.
@@Hoschie-ww7io You sure bro? Nobody? The amout of times I've seen some swarthy Truk in a AliExpress tuned BMW or VW going flat out trough a construction zone is comical.
As a German who Drives alot in the Autobahn i Mist say i dont need Speed Limits Most of the time the Autobahn is full of Traffic so U cant Go fast anyway. And If you are lucky enough to get a free Part of it its Up to you how fast you wanna go. Most important is the distance between the Cars thats the reason Crashes Happen Not the Speed
@@operius2385 Not really! Only if u drive to(!) fast. 200 on an empty and dry Autobahn is no problem. 150 with much traffic and even Rain. Your insurance propably will say u were to fast an wont pay.
@@operius2385 Not really If you Crash at 130+ U have to explaine why the Crash happend and If they think IT was cause of Dangerous driving they can say " we dont pay" but as far as i know they pay the damage
@@operius2385 this gets decided case by case. If it gets jugded that you are partly to blame for causing an accident because of speeding on the autobahn your insurance will also only cover it partly. What i can also tell you is that we are bound by law to have a insurance that pays for dmg we cause by accident, that gets called "gesetzliche haftpflichtversicherung" in english "statutory liability insurance". This insurance is responsible for this cases and actually it is pretty safe if you would compare it to us insurance stuff. cause this insurance covers about anything even at very high prices. A bit offtopic but my father is a smoker and had the glorious idea to throw a still glowing cigarette into a really tall tree in our neighbors garden during a drought in summer. Of course the tree burned to the ground. Our insurance covered the full dmg for us and our neighbors even tho they knew that my father was to blame and even tho they knew what he did. (The dmg was in the 2000 euro area) So i could imagine that our insurance would also cover dmg caused by going over 130 if there is no speedlimit on the driven part of the autobahn. This is of course just how i would imagine that, after all i can only talk about my experience so take it with a grain of salt. Greetings from niedersachsen/germany 💖
makes the same sense as "Guns don't kill people, bullets do...." reckless speeding kills people.... also becoming stationary all of a sudden isn't a thing if ur speeding since most of the time after u hit something shit is flying everywhere...including u.. unless u park in the ass of a truck which is stationary cause of a traffic-jam at 250km/h
Driving on the Autobahn was on my bucket list and although I rented a non high performance car I was able to experience the absolute exhilaration of high speed driving. What impressed me was that for the most part the drivers were focused on driving, keeping to the right unless passing, not drinking beverages or using cell phones. Keep the freedom alive!!
One of the great things about the Autobahn are the resting areas. Almost everywhere there is a resting spot within 10 minutes so it's quite easy to keep the focus on driving.
Well.. at that high speed you have to be focused on driving. If you drive a standard mid class car and going over 200 km/h you better not check your emails or playing with your radio while driving. No speed limit while having one of the lowest death rates on highways just works when you drive responsible and stay focused on what is important. And even if it sound strange to others: safety first at all time is most important. Even if you are driving as fast as Nascars do.
@@filegrabber1 I noticed that as well, since the driving on the autobahn does involve more concentration than regular driving those rest stops are a nice way to readjust ones focus.
Using the cell phone or drinking while driving is strictly illegal in Germany. You get high fines for that. Also we have Rechtsfahrgebot. You are forbidden to use the left line when not overtaking. We follow these rules strictly because with the great speed comes great responsibility. Driving in the US seemed a bit whilly nilly for me when I was there. Everyone drove where he wanted. There was no real order on the highway. Overtaking right was common to do.
1:10 That's of course illegal in Germany - generally around continental Europe you have to overtake on the left lane. 4:10 about 70% of the complete system are without speed limit. 7:30 exactly, some from the US and other countries as well.
About Montana, it was until 1974 where you could drive as fast as you wanted within daylight but they stopped it. There were two main reasons for that. The way americans are used to drive and the quallity / design of the road. Btw: Almost any of the crashes shown in this video, where not from the german Autobahn. It showed Italy, England and Russia for example :D
I’m from the Netherlands and love to drive on the autobahn when I’m in Germany. But you do need to be responsible with the car that you have, I could probably max out at let’s say 220kph but that’s not wise, my brakes are really not designed for that like say a Audi RS, so I just stay well below 170 or 180. Use your head and expect to be able to react in time if someone else does something unexpected.
@@LLUstgBtl272 Dutch roads are way smoother but you can only do 100 during the day which makes everybody drive like lorry drivers passing each other one going 0.001 km/h faster than the other. Good luck if you want to be somewhere and aren't just stress free cruising on your time off.
I'm Dutch too, "best" I ever did was a 180 in an old Toyota, just to watch Audi's and Porches fly by me. This was late in the evening so it was pretty quiet.
German here. Autobahn? No speed limit? Trust me, it gets old pretty fast (no pun intended) when you have it every day. Especially when you occasionally experience the situation where you have to get rid of all that speed within fractions of a second. Which will happen. You'll be facing the back of a 44-ton semi pulling out at a solid 60 mph and its like flying towards a stationary concrete wall. If the distances don't add up all that's left is an ugly smear on that semi's rear end. It happens.
Also keep in mind that the autobahn is designed for speed, complete mountains are dug away so that the curvature and elevation of the roads allow these speeds.
South of Munich nearing the border to Austria you have no limit (at least some years ago), but only two lanes and quite tight curves (for an Autobahn). I had a standard car capable of 200km/h (which I was testing at that trip) but there I went down to 160-170km/h because I didn't feel safe with full throttle. So no limit doesn't mean you can physically drive it everywhere (depending on car). And I switched off the radio because i didn't hear much anyways because I had to concentrate. Only partly on steering but on observing everything ahead of me. If someone slower decides to switch lanes you have only a very short time to react.
I‘m pretty much on the Autobahn once or twice a week. When there is a lot of traffic I adapt and drive slower. But many times especially in the late hours there is little traffic and I enjoy to go faster. No crazy speed but fast enough to not get bored. I would not die when a general speed limit would be introduced, but I would definitely not be happy either. The greatest problem on the Autobahn are people not moving to the right lane when they have passed other cars or worse they do not pay enough attention when they want to pass.
Germany has three categories of roads. Each of them has a default speed limit, one of which is unlimited. The road sign removing limitations just reverts you to the default.
Yes the difference between a "general" speed limit and a "local" (signed) speed limit. General means - If there is no other local speed limit (by signs) the general limit is valid. The three general speed limits are 1.) 50km/h in built-up area ("Geschlossene Ortschaften") - visible by a rectangular yellow sign with the name of the village/town/city. Something like the "city limits" in the US. 2.) 100km/h outside build-up areas 3.) 130km/h recommended (aka "It would be nice when you drive only at this speed but you can go faster") speed limit on Autobahnen and "Autobahnähnlichen Bundesstrassen" (A road needs the official status of an Autobahn (then the roads got the blue signs) to be classified as such. In some areas there are Federal Roads (Bundesstrasse - yellowish signs) build with the same standard as an official Autobahn but they do not have the official status and at these "build with Highway standard" parts of the roads the general Autobahn speed recommendation is also valid). One Example of such a "like a highways" road is the B9 between Brohl-Lützing and Coblence - until the early 2000's no speed limit, now partly (by local signs) limited to 80km/h at Brohl-Lützing (because direct on the outside of the crash-barrier is now a pedestrian and bike path) and beween Andernach and Coblence 120km/h. Another one was or is (it was in the late 80s - I do not know the current status) the B49 between Limburg and Marburg. Another "fun" fact: The status "Bundestrasse" (federal road - abbreviation B+No. like B1, B258,... ), "Landstrasse" (State road - abbreviation L+number e.g. L123), "Kreisstrasse" (Countyroad abbreviation K+Number e.g. K23a) has no hint what kind of road this is (e.g. B-roads are always like interstates, L-roads like trunk roads and K-streets are graveled paths in the forrest) - It only means who is resposible for the road maintenance (aka who paid it - the State, the County or the federal goverment).
My opinion on this is that, it is not the speed limit that is the problem, but the attitude drivers have towards general traditional laws etc. Such as keeping a distance to the vehicle in front by using the 3 second rule. (when the vehicle in front passes a given point, e.g. an intersection, it must take 3 seconds before your vehicle passes the same point) To always overtake on the left side. To always look back before changing lanes. To always use direction indicators in good time before changing lanes or turning. Always keeping an eye on what is happening far ahead of the vehicle, so you have time to act if you have to slow down significantly without panic braking. etc.
that 3 second rule sucks because the higher your speed is the bigger should be the distance to the car in front of you that why half your speed is the minimum distance is better. 100kph 50m to the guy in front 180kph 90m and so on but that only works because the autobahn has markers on the side 50m apart to easier judge your distance. i agree with the rest of your statment of course
@@frozenkillerwith the 3sek(I know it as 2sek) rule the distance also increases and with two seconds the distance you have is the same as with the half you speed rule (a few meters more). But you have the benefit that most people are better at estimating two seconds than estimating a distance.
There are More things to Keep in mind. 1. Getting drivers licence is Hard and expensive. You will be trained to drive Good. 2. Autobahn is in Good Shape and take often maintaince. 3. Cars Must Go to TÜV. It’s a 2 year Test the Cars Must Go through. So Cars also in Good shape. 4. there are strict rules like Dont overtake on the right side.
in addition every change u make has to be approved by the TÜV..... if u do something that impacts the performance of the car and u don't have a valid TÜV for that ... there goes the license for a while + the fine
Lower Traffic related death may be due to more training required to get a driver license, and more rules on the road, you are for example only allowed to overtake on the left side
Last weekend i drove on the Autobahn back from Koblenz to the Belgium border. It was about 17 o'clock and i could drive 220km/h for a long distance. It was quiet on the road. My car is capable of driving 243km/h and is a standard Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B. with 245 hp. Even then i have to watch in the mirror so and then because there can always come a way faster car. So you have to look and anticipate.
The B9 (federal road No. 9) through Bonn was also called Diplomat's Racetrack. It connects Bonn-Bad-Godesberg (where all the Embassies where) to the former Goverment Area (Seat of the President, Parlament, etc.) and the Airport. Because Diplomats often didn't pay their fine (the doesn't need to) they didn't care about the Speed limits.
Why we have fewer traffic fatalities in Germany, despite autobahns without speed limits? Maybe it's because of that: Registration: Sign up with a driving school. Vision test and first aid course: Take a vision test and a first aid course. You will need these certificates to apply for your driver's license. Application: The application for the driver's license is usually made by the driving school. The processing time typically takes at least 5 weeks, in this time you can already start with the driving training, but not yet take the test. Theory lessons: Once you have paid the fees, you can start directly with the theory lessons. There are 14 different theory units, each unit lasts 90 minutes. They cover all important areas of road traffic and driving. 2 units cover additional material and must be attended. In the other 12 basic units you only have to be present at least 12 times, so theoretically you could also attend the same basic unit 12 times. Practical lessons: You arrange regular driving lessons with your driving instructor, usually directly 90 minutes, so 2 driving lessons. There is no minimum number for basic driving lessons. The average is at least 18 hours, depending on your ability even less is enough. Really obligatory are then only the 12 special driving hours, which also cost more: they consist of 5 intercity, 4 highway and 3 night driving. Theory test: If you have done all the hours, you can register for the theory test. This can be done at most 3 months before the minimum age allowed. There are about 1,000 questions, 30 of which are asked and you are allowed a maximum of 10 demerits in the exam. Practical test: Your driving instructor knows when you are ready for the practical driving test. You can take it a maximum of one month before the minimum age allowed. The examiner tells you what to do during the test, for example where to turn, where and how to park. You pass the test if you drive for 45 minutes without making any serious mistakes. Greetings from Germany 🙂
Hey , don’t forget the No Speed Limit zones in the Northern Territory Australia THE Northern Territory now has 300-kilometers of unrestricted highway speed-limits after the government approved new changes overnight. A further 60-kilometre stretch of the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs will be free of speed limits, allowing those behind the wheel to drive to the conditions.
Are you Spamming ? The Territory used to be De-Restrict right through the North-South Road until the Ran a " Cannonball " Event up there , long ago . There was an Horrific Accident at one of the Checkpoints with 5 deaths occurring . This led to a Federal Law that the National Limit was 100 km/h . The " Ghostbusters " signs DO still exist here and there around the place , but they MEAN 100 . Any time one of those gets replaced , a Number replaces it . A State can post a Higher limit on certain Roads , BUT , they have to be SPECIFIC as to what that higher limit is .
@@anon17472 . Also in NSW . On MOTORWAYS and only when Posted . Nationally , in the absence of a Posted Speed , in an Unbuilt Up area , the General Speed Limit is 100 . State Regulatory signage CAN ascribe higher limits in designated areas .
Ohh, no thank you sir! That looks like some kangaroo will kill me at any time going 100hm/h not to mention the 250 I drive to work... The Autobahn has special animal bridges and fencing against noise and animals. And Rails so you don't fly of in the flora and tumble 28 times...
@@NavySeal2k . A Kangaroo is unlikely to Kill you at 100 km/h . May well make a Write-Off out of your Car though . Depends on the Size of the 'Roo . A Tyre failure at 250 , on the other hand............................................................ 100 klicks is WELL within Easy Visual Range . 250 maybe not so much . Zero reaction time available at those speeds .
When I went to Germany, I caught a train and it did 200km. Yet you really can't tell, how fast you are going unless there was something was passing you.
In Germany you have a race track for all vehicles where there is no speed limit. It is available, of course, with payment and a test of safe behavior on the track itself. So you can drive there with your own car and push it to the limit, or you can rent a car at the track itself.
Das hört sich irgendwie so an, wie wenn du den Leuten sagen würdest, dass JEDER hier in Deutschland eine Rennstrecke hat. Also klar, ich verstehe schon was du meinst!:))) In Germany (like in the USA or in other countries) we have the option(!) to rent time on a professional racing track like the Nürnburg-Ring (Formula One ... or in America at Nascar tracks). In other words: Matjaz is just an responsible adult! Autobahnen are NO racing tracks! They are just streets. Not more and no less. Greetings from a German, voluntary-firefighter, overwatching some tiny parts of the "Autobahn 5". Have a relaxing and accident-free holidays, guys!:)
@@dieSpinnt You're right, when I reread it, the meaning is out of context. I meant private racetracks! Translating and keeping track of the text is very complicated, especially when translators make their own corrections.
@@matjazwalland903 Your phrasing is nothing bad either:) I just noticed it and wanted to be nice. Thanks for not thinking I'm a bad woman who just wants to correct you (which unfortunately is the norm on Twitter, CZcams, or whatever). Thanks for your answer:) Dankeschön:)
Fun Fact: There is a general Speed Limit in Germany Here in Germany we got an Airspace called Golf or just "G" where the Max speed limit is 250 Kn or 456 Km/h and Starts from the Ground. So Technically when nothing from the Car touches the Ground you can be sued for Airspace violation.
The huge difference in deaths in the US vs Germany comes from how you obtain your license. In all of Europe to have a driver's license you need to pass 2 exams and have at least 25 - 30h of practice under surveillance of a accredited teacher. In the US as I know is very easy to obtain your driver's license.
Greetings from Germany. Germans are by no means more "rational" than others. The HUGE (just look at the freely available data, see "Verkehrsunfälle in Deutschland - Statistisches Bundesamt" = "Traffic accidents in Germany - Federal Statistical Office") progress to save lives is entirely due to modern safety technology, engineering performance and road planning. Fixed by population, Americans, Italians, Australians, Indians, etc. are on par! Yeah, when you show, watch or think about extraordinary BS like poor people killing themselves by riding a train with mattresses and donkeys ... one may think different. But that are just stereotypes and the "interesting" things you get to see on CZcams or the media. The ordinary boring stuff, as REAL LIFE ... ist just ordinary and boring, or?:) Look at the data. I don't have to say anything more than that. I wish you and the community refreshing and accident-free holidays, Gabis!:)
North American city planning and street design is another big problem. There are really a lot of crashes outside of highways on "regular" roads that might be wider than your average 6 lane autobahn, but still have intersections every few meters. It's build like a highway, super straight, wider, you barely notice when you reach 60mph, but at the same time you have a ton of traffic, a lot of parking lots and intersection on the way and occasional someone actually is mad or poor enough to take a bike or walk on the sides of those roads. They are commonly referred to as stroads (at least by people who really hate them) because they combine elements of normal streets and roads in the kind of worse possible mix and make traffic several times more dangerous and it should be. The lack of drivers education comes on top of the bad design.
1:09 absolutely no speed limit is wrong. As far as I know 50% of the Autobahn-system are unrestricted. There are some speed limits in regions where the autobahn is older, has more turns as usual or has some bridges and tunnels.
Yes Ian, you got it, a lot of clips are from different States (or country whatever you call) US (can easily recognized by the licence plate and left lane hoggers and the Bugatti drivers do an illegal overtake on the right) Russia (that blueish car that lost control) Czech Republic (the video of the F2 Dallara in the highway)
@@darek4488 wait a moment, in Italy passing cars on the right is allowed if the lane has been kept and the speed constant, for example the imbecile who improperly occupies the left lane goes to 80 km/h while you, with the speed of 100, can pass on the right, however to avoid being stopped by the PolStrada (short term of Polizia Stradale in common language or only Stradale) you have to keep the lane and speed, if you change lane it is defined overtaking, then in that case they do not stop those who went to 80 on the left but you. I don't know in Germany, but i think they are more strict in this situation. Maybe we have the same concept for this situation (talking about Poland and Italy)
@@marco_grt4460 In German there is the "Rechtsfahrgebot". It means that you HAVE to drive on the right except when you are overtaking. Of course if you are driving really fast and overtake a lot of people you can stay on the left lane - but if there is no reason (no overtake) you should not be on the left lane - even if you go 250+ kph.
@@marco_grt4460 In Poland you don't have to keep the lane or speed. You can drop a gear, put the right indicator on to change the lane and go full throttle on the right. It is just legal to overtake on either side. However it is only allowed on one-way roads and two-way roads where the traffic directions are separated like highways.
Good morning Ian and greetz from Germany. The initial Idea for the Autobahn came from Konrad Adenauer, Mayor of Cologne in 1932 👍 Wishing you and your family a great weekend. Keep the great videos coming ✌
As someone who would have the best knowledge haven't they restricted speed on some parts of the autobahn and put speed limits in place during certain times of day?
@@erose1710 Yes thats exactly how it is, many parts of the autobahn have speed limits. and yes there are also speed limits that depend on the time.. mainly in cities
@@erose1710 Only a small percentage of the Autobahn has unrestricted Speed limit. Most of it is limited to 130kmh which is mostly around cities where the traffic volume is higher.
@@hilpi75 Most of Australia's highways couldn't manage 130kmh, not because cars can't go that fast, it's because the roads are poorly maintained. I'd love to have an autobahn or highway as well managed as the ones in Germany.
Vor ein paar Jahren war ich täglich etwa 100 Kilometer je Wegstrecke auf der Autobahn unterwegs. Auf der Fahrt zur Arbeit war ich im Feierabend-Verkehr im Stau oder stockenden Verkehr gestanden, als ich dann selbst gegen 2 Uhr in der Nacht nach Hause gefahren bin, hatte ich freie Bahn, war quasi alleine auf der Straße unterwegs und bin mein Auto ausgefahren. Das hat mir sehr gefallen und ganz ehrlich, wenn man die Strecke wirklich gut kennt und alleine unterwegs ist, braucht es kein Geschwindigkeitslimit - mir jedenfalls war es vollkommen egal. ^^ Viele der Szenen aus dem Video sind einfach nur dumm gewesen. Wer in Deutschland einen Führerschein macht, der muss etwa 20 Stunden zur Theorie in der Fahrschule lernen, dann muss man die theoretische Fahrprüfung ablegen. Dann muss man in der Praxis fahren lernen, dazu kommen noch 12 Pflichtstunden, vier auf der Autobahn, vier bei der Nachfahrt und nochmals vier Überlandfahrt, also auf der Landstraße. Dann erst macht man die Prüfung. Im Grunde ist man mindestens drei Monate damit beschäftigt das Autofahren zu lernen. Hinzu kommt noch der TÜV. Jedes in Deutschland gemeldete Auto muss alle zwei Jahre zum TÜV um auf die Sicherheit überprüft zu werden. Da wird jeder sicherheitsrelevante Teil des Autos genau angesehen - damit eben keine Unfälle passieren. Mit Verlaub, ich habe schon viele Videos aus den USA gesehen und dort gibt es sowas wie unseren TÜV definitiv nicht, oder die Beamte sind besoffen ^^ - denn wenn man viele der Schrottkisten sieht, die in den USA auf den Straßen fahren, würde ich nur ungerne die Straße mit solchen unsicheren Autos teilen wollen, vor allem nicht wenn die so schnell fahren dürften, wie die Fahrer wollten!!! 😀 Zudem muss man natürlich sagen das die deutsche Automobilindustrie qualitativ hochwertige Autos produziert die allesamt unvernünftig schnell fahren können. Diese Autos sind zudem sehr teuer und sind für etwa 2 Millionen Jobs in Deutschland verantwortlich. Dazu zählen natürlich auch die ganzen Zulieferer für die Autobauer, bis hin zum Marketing und den Banken. Wenn man in Deutschland nun ein Geschwindigkeitslimit einführen würde, so würde mir persönlich kein Grund einfallen 50.000€, und mehr für ein deutsches Auto auszugeben. Ganz ehrlich, ich kann es auch wirklich nicht verstehen, warum man überall auf der Welt Sportwagen für mehr als 100.000€ kauft. Ein Porsche in den USA mit einem Geschwindigkeitslimit von 80 oder 100 Meilen pro Stunde ist einfach nur lächerlich. Mein ersten eigenes Auto war ein Golf II mit 55 PS, der ist auch 160 km/h auf der Autobahn gefahren - und ich habe es geliebt! Spannend war jeder Überholvorgang wenn man aus dem Windschatten eines schweren 40-Tonnen-LKW gefahren ist, und der einsetzende Wind meinen kleinen Golf um einen Meter nach links gerückt hat. 😀 Lange ist es her. Viele Grüße PS: Eines noch, ich fürchte mich ja mehr vor ausländischen Touristen die in Deutschland mit mehr als 200 km/h mit einem Leihwagen über die Autobahn rasen, um sich einen Herzenswunsch zu erfüllen, als vor sehr vielen anderen Dingen, die einem im Leben begegnen können. Ganz ehrlich, da wäre ich für ein Geschwindigkeitslimit! Kommt ein Japaner oder Ami mit einem nicht-deutschen Führerschein zu einer Fahrzeugvermietung um sich einen fetten Porsche, Audi, BMW oder Daimler zu mieten um endlich mal ohne Speedlimit über die Autobahn zu rasen - da muss eine elektronische Abriegelung her! ^^ Für ungeübte Fahrer ist ein Auto einfach nur eine Waffe, und in diesem Fall zielt die Waffe auf andere Verkehrsteilnehmer die mit Kindern auf der Rückbank fahren! Oder würde man mir als Deutscher, der bislang noch niemals eine Schusswaffe in der Hand hatte, solch eine geladene und entsicherte Waffe in die Hand drücken, mich in den USA durch die Stadt laufen lassen, nur weil ich 500$ dafür bezahlt habe, um mir das Vergnügen oder Gefühl mal zu gönnen?!? 😀 Ich hoffe doch nicht!
If you have an accident on the autobarn you have to explain to the police why it happened as you were going so fast. Basically its fine to go what ever speed in those sections with out a speed limit but but get involved in an accident and you will get into trouble for it. Germans get taught advanced driving and how to drive manual too. They tend to be better drivers and know how to handle a vehicle and speed.
You are just describing any developed countries road rules... "If you have an accident you have to explain it." Umm... Obviously. *rolls the car and lands upside down in the centre barrier. Cops "please sir, tell me what happened Me" what? Cop "oh yeh, no need to explain anything. Have a good day. Bye Literally no one and nowhere
Please move on: "Es gibt hier nichts zu sehen!" (Nothing to see here!) This is a German police action, so please move on!!! Germans are NOT better, more rational or disciplined than anyone other. No one has to "tell" what happened or is questioned what BS he or she has done (In fact, please take my advice NOT to say anything, if asked by the police!!!! ... hehehe). Our forensic possibilities in Germany are as high as anywhere else in the world. And maybe Danger Mouse is from North Korea, I don't know, but here you have to bring up EVIDENCE to convict someone of something. Germans get not taught something advanced. If you look at the data, Indians, Americans, Italians, etc. are all the same. Modern engineering, car safety technology and modern street planing have reduced the deaths in traffic. Not "reason" ... Why this is not the case you can see here ... as an example. The statements of Danger Mouse just make no sense ... when you look at the actual data = REALITY! (Besides a video of morons riding a train with mattresses and killing themselves .... which is just a stereotype and NOT the boring everyday life:P) I wish you all relaxing and accident-free holidays!:)
I’ve been on the Autobahn a couple times now, last time was in an M3 so pretty fun but the first time we went there it was with a 100hp diesel Peugeot 208 with 4 people inside, pedal flat to the floor at all time 184km/h top speed, we spend most of the unlimited part on the right lane and the only thing we overtook were basically trucks 😂
in general, there is no speed limit on the autobahn (as of now), but there are a lot of sections with a speed limit (usually 120 or 130 kph, sometimes 100). this is usually due to regular high traffic or hazards like unusually sharp turns or steep grades, sometimes its for no apperant reason at all, which usually means that that section has an unusually high accident statistic. they can only really leave a section unrestricted, if you truly can go 400 kph safely, meaning no sharp turns, no hills that hinder visibility, no steep grades that drastically increase braking distance, no points of major congestion and so on. all this is pretty difficult to achieve if youre building an autobahn in mountainous or densely populated regions for example. from my own experience i would say that probably close to half of the entire autobahn system is restricted for this reason.
Having worked for both Philips and Siemens, I have spent considerable time in Germany and Holland. The Autobahn is exciting and quite safe if you drive to the capability of your car and self and the weather is suitable.. I never had a performance car to drive, usually a sub compact rental, and I would just stay in the right hand lane at around 110kph (@67mph) and let the speed demons go for it. It can be terrifying in the rain however. I was once caught on the autobahn in a fierce downpour and could not see more than 10 feet past the front of the car. I slowed up, but the traffic going by in the other lanes did not slow at all, and I knew they could see no better than me. I was shit scared I was going to be rear ended at speed and was so relieved to see an Ausgang (exit) sign and get off until the rain subsided. By the way, the Northern Territory has open limits in the rural areas.
My buddy says he was driving on the autobahn in a little crapbox at 85 mph in the early Nineties. It was nearly floored when Cops in a 911 Turbo pulled next to him and emphatically pointed to the right lane! They then seamlessly merged into the left lane and blasted out of sight.
That's a cool story from your buddy...,can happen when the freeway is clear (the right lane) and you're driving in the middle lane or left lane), "only" 85mil/h. Autobahn police cars have always installed the most powerful engines in these models. Greetings from Germany.
@@rschburg You can buy a Diecast of a Police Turbo Car. They also had naturally aspirated 911's starting with a 2.4 liter in the Seventies. A tuned C7 ZO6 was also used by the German police.
On the Autobahn, because of all of the high performance cars, there is at least the recommendation that if you're moving into the central or left lane, that you should check your mirrors twice just in case a supercar is on it's way past.
there is a general speedlimit. the ruling is: you are only allowed to drive as fast as it is save. this means if there is a crash , one or both of the partys where to fast else it would have been avoided. rain fog darkness etc all that makes driving verry fast unsave and therefor the driver is responsible to reduce speed untill its save. 30 miles per houre can be too fast and makes you liable for a accident if , for example, fog restricted viewdistance to 15 feet.
I got the chance to go all out on the Autobahn earlier this year on a long stretch of no limits during a calm time of day and I gotta say, just flooring it and finding the actual speed limit of my daily driver was very interesting. Also you could tell the engine was straining the moment I got off, I'd never heard it whine like that before or since xD One day I hope to go back with a car built for speed and compare the experience.
A few reasons why this is possible in Germany: -Very good roads adapted to the high speed. - Months of driver's license training with professional instructors, several hours of theory and practice (including high-speed motorway driving) a week with a rigorous exam. - Disciplined, attentive and considerate driving (a few idiots like mostly in the video are everywhere and will be severely punished) -Carefully follow a few rules (always drive on the far right, only use the left lane to overtake and look very carefully in the mirror beforehand, keep your distance, adapt your speed to traffic and the weather,....) -legally prescribed thorough examination of the car with driving bans even for slight defects. - Strictly obey traffic signs. Then safe driving at over 200 km/h is also possible. Many studies have shown that speed limits would probably not reduce the number of accidents (which is already one of the lowest in the world), as this would create other dangers (lack of concentration driving due to monotony, more right-hand overtakers, inattention to dangerous situations...) If everyone in their country obeyed the rules strictly, there would be 0% accidents with or without a speed limit. Driving on the Autobahn in Germany is safe, whoever claims otherwise has never driven to other countries (of course with exceptions). ... and please Autobahn tourists! ...FOLLOW THE RULES! ... get a good briefing beforehand! ...and sit first in the passenger seat of someone with experience! ...and don't immediately rent the fastest sports car! YOU BREAK ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL AND WELL-KEPT GUARD BARRIER AND BRIDGE PILLARS !!!
Around where I live all parts of the autobahn is restricted to 120kph. And the first autobahn, the diplomatic speedway, actually had had a limit. It was just lifted by the Nazis later on. The biggest issue with the insane speeds is the difference between the fast and the slow ones. Especially when taking over, a car doing 100kph more than you approaching you from behind is almost impossible to see. Therefore the idea is to restrict the speed to something about 200kph. If you want to go faster, there are plenty of racing tracks open to the public.
The worry with introducing a speed limit is that it will not be around 200kph. The nay-sayers will push for at most 130kph and ensure this discussion is an all or noting situation. I see the 300+ super cars are a problem, doing 200 or 220 in a capable car should not be. Maybe I'm to pessimistic, but I don't see reasonable legislation be a likely outcome. It is always the far ends of the spectrum who dominate the discourse.
If I'm driving in Germany I mostly do it with an RV. I will drive about 90-100km/h with a physical limit of 130km/h (flat road, some time to get up to that). If I'm to overtake someone (e.g. truck), it is really difficult to estimate how fast drivers behind you are going. Therfore I don't like the driving there. It's better and more comfortable in nearly every country surrounding Germany.
I am German and I've heard plenty of debates about the speed limit on the Autobahn I love driving fast, but I had to realise that "but it's fun" is the only real argument you have against the speedlimit and its basically about emotions vs facts less traffic jams, more safety (eventhough driving in Germany is already safe, why not make it safer?), its less loud and most importantly its better for the environment
sadly a lot of people in other countries dgaf about the last argument and even if we get 100% clean we are only ~2% of worlds population. i fully understand that someone has to step into the right direction, but when i see literal rivers on fire in india because of how contaminated they are with highly toxic chemicals, it makes me question my sanity.
@@M4xXxIkInG thats true, it barely makes a difference, even in Germany its only a small difference, but we do have the money to do something for the enviroment, more so than India for example it also doesnt harm anyone
It is not only fun, it is relaxing. Just driving and adapting your speed to the physical conditions of the road, traffic, the car and yourself feels natural. No worrying about breaking some rule or getting fines. Also on long distances saving an hour or more of travel time is worth it for some. The fuel savings are marginal, not that many people drive crazy speeds. Unless you want a crawling 100kph speed limit. And within 10-20 years most cars will be electric, so pollution is not a factor. We have to get on renewables or modern nuclear anyway, so speed limits don't matter there.
General Speed Limit: Losing attention to traffic, at "slow" speed, people do other things and get distracted. serious accidents will still happen. Driving at high speed your brain is at high performance to process information to avoid any possible critical Situation. You train your head while driving fast.
We were in Germany in 2013 and the Autobahn was great to drive on and I would often cruise at 180kms, but being overtaken by much faster cars, which required me to move to the right. However, at times, cars on the right would pull out to overtake without accelerating, which had me standing on the brakes. So then, this is what I quickly learnt. Far right was for semi-trailers, caravans and the likes with a max speed of 80kms. In some places, the semi-trailers were not allowed to overtake. the middle lane was generally used for slower cruising, up to about 130kms. The far left lane was for the faster cars and it was expected that you would move to the right (if you could) to allow them to continue unimpeded if you were slower than them. Also, German drivers all seemed very capable. We were in the USA in 2018 and in many places we could cruise at 75mph upwards as the speed limit wasn't enforced, although I believe that changed from state to state. I live in Australia, despite being such a large country, our speed limit is very slow, sadly, for this causes fatigue and fatigue related accidents. Our legal max is 110, apart from the Northern Territory and if you exceed 140kms and get caught, it is an immediate suspension from driving for six months. They really do need to push that up to 130kms or allow a greater tolerance or get rid of the speed cameras to allow people to drive without the worry of exceeding the limit. Where there are speed cameras people slow down too much. There are also point to point cameras so the traffic tends to travel below the speed limit, this causes unnecessary congestion and the frustration and accidents that go with it. Even with 5 or 6 lanes in the US, the traffic travelled much much better, for it was not over policed.
you understand the autobahn 100% correctly also the people that had you standing on your brakes probably didnt look in their mirrors, very important and very dangerous if not done you know why source me live here 14 years driving experience thats not that long but hey atleast its a decade :D
about 65% are restricted, but that means 35% are not. you can drive there as fast as you want as long as you are driving safe and as long as you don’t endanger anyone.
Things to note: 1. A lot of clips in this video were not recorded in Germany. 2. Some of the clips (for example the super cars taking over on the right lane) show illegal driving. You are supposed to overtake on the left lane and keep a safety distance between you and the car in front of you. 3. From my experience about 50-60% of the Autobahn has restricted speed limits (mostly 120 kmh) also due to the extreme amounts of construction and maintenance work being done on the street. 4. Maintenance of the street is way better than in other countries. You wanna go 300+ kmh? The street needs to provide for that, so no bumps and no holes. The amount of maintenance going into that is insane. 5. German training to get your drivers license is way more in depth than in the US. You need approx. 2-3 weeks full of studying and driving lessons (with a theoretical and practical exam in the end) to obtain it. 6. Every 2nd year your car has to undergo an in depth inspection by the so called "TÜV" (checking for road worthiness), if your car isn't within strict regulations you either repair it or lose your allowance to drive it on public roads. 7. Tendency in Germany to get a new car (great deals from the big car companies or even some government sided bonus) is higher than normal I would say. Meaning more new cars on the streets = safer. Germany is no exception with having idiots behind the wheel, that harass you and drive irresponsible. But the majority tries to make the Autobahn a safe and quick way to get from A to B.
Got to remember speeds also depend on the maintenance of roads. Here in Australia there are still people who believe speeds can be lifted and allow people to go faster. They are obviously laughed at as they don't understand at all how the Autobahn works. It is built and designed for speed in how they are built and designed. Concrete, stone, rock, gravel, sand and then asphalt all in certain thicknesses to give the road more strength and stop sinking and corragations. And every night they are made sure they are thoroughly cleaned of all debris, dirt, oil etc. There are no roads in Australia built that way except for those near the docklands. Those roads were designed for the heavy trucks and machinery and the massive weights they carry. All major roads are not suited for high speed, especially the major highways. There are ruts in those roads 30 centimeters deep that can't be seen unless you walk them by foot. And they are littered with debrie like nails, stones, dirt and oil.
I did 215 km/h with my SAAB back in 2005 or so, it’s the fastest I went in a car, I did it in Germany and still was more on the middle and right lane then on the left.
Yeah some clips are definitely not from Germany. Also it has been proven that a general speed limit would have very little effect,, neither in emissions nor in safety. Alexander Bloch from auto, motor & sport explained it in great detail in one of his videos. Don't forget, getting a driving license here is significantly more expensive and requires a lot of mandatory lessons, including on the Autobahn. And many people drive cars that are designed to be driven at relatively high speeds.
a lot of the scenes shown are either not filmed in germany or are highly illegal. yes you can go as fast as you want, but if youre gonna go 200+ kph, you stay in the left lane period. anything else would be close to a death wish and would definitely lose you your license for a long time. on the flipside, staying in the left or middle lane going slow for no reason is very frowned upon among germans and is also illegal.
Actually it is not only the Autobahn without speedlimit. If you are driving outside a town and have 2 lanes in each direction (or 1 lane with a proper middle seperation) it is also not restricted generally. But there we have Speedlimit signs in over 95% of time. So these unlimited parts are very rare.
It's just in sections and is weather dependent. The whole autobahn is under construction and it's a nightmare at the moment. The A38 is your best bet, but there are always trucks over taking trucks doing 90kmh and you have 1 lane and anything over 250kmph (150mph) can get a little hairy in any kind of weather. Saying that, it's fun to try and beat your own time if you have a regular run. Also, a lot of drivers (audi drivers in particular) are often driving past their capability. During the daytime though, there is no chance for a long fast run on any other autobahn other than the A38 east bound.
what you need to understand about driving in the US vs germany is that obtaining a drivers license in germany is waaay harder than in the us. i can confidently say that, because i did both. some people take like a year and fail the exams multiple times before getting it. some people never make it at all. the driving schools are also a different breed. in virginia it wasnt even required for me it just lowered the insurance premium and it was like 8 hours just driving to pick up the next student. sure youre supposed to learn from your parents, but if they have bad driving habits already, theyll pass that right on to you. in germany youre doing a minimum of 40 hours and they actually teach you not just what the laws are, but how to actually drive safely. and yes, they also teach you stick. also i found that the attitude from americans towards their cars is really different. its usually seen as an expendable thats there to be used, while germans really view their cars as a representation of themselves, meaning they seem to be way more careful with their own or other peoples cars. also there are a lot of traffic laws in the us that are just unsafe, e.g. that you can pass on the right as you please.
True but one thing though. You will get pulled over if you drive dangerously (like the guy switching lanes during heavy traffic). There may be no speed limit but all other rules still apply.
Hi Ian, i'm from germany and spend a lot of my time on the autobahn, transfering business cars. I often drive the same route from munich to Berlin, Frankfurt or Hamburg. Can tell you it's realistic to make the distance from Munich to Berlin (around 370 mls) in a potent car like a 400 hp BMW on a sunny day with fluent, non vacation traffic jam and some 5 to 10 mile construction road parts and considering all speed limits, you can do it in around 4:15 hours. By night it's possible in 3:30 hours if you go flat out where it's possible and allowed 😊
what usually is missed on the speed limit is: the rule in Germany states something like: "... any overland road (i.e. not within city bounds) with at least two lanes in each direction and a physical separation of opposite traffic has no speed limit by default." So this does not need to be an Autobahn, but by construction default an Autobahn shall fall into this category. So the typically assumed 100 km/h for standard overland roads is not true the moment the aforementioned construction characteristics are present. That's why, if those are present, you'll see a speed-limit sign immediately.
8:00 every time you see a yellow line it's not germany, gemany only uses yellow when lanes change because of a repair. My record in a renault Twingo is 129mph and 155 in a BMW 3 series. Most cars are limited by the factory to 155mph and you have to pay a little bit to get the unrestricted version for some 10-20mph more.
As for the reason why such speeds are possible. The whole autobahn system is designed for it. It involves everything from how the road surface itself is constructed to the maximum curvature of the road, minimum lane width, how intersections are designed and a whole lot of additional design parameters and requirements. Including the divider between the two directions. You‘ll never see an unprotected median between the two directions of traffic like you get on a lot of US highways. The median is always lined with guard rails that prevent cars from crossing into oncoming traffic. There‘s also a required service lane where it is safe to stop if a vehicle breaks down or if someone has an emergency and where emergency vehicles can safely pass when an accident has occurred. Another important aspect is that the Autobahn has a minimum speed requirement of 60 km/h. If you drive a vehicle that can’t drive 60 km/h are more you are not allowed to use German motorways. There’s also a recommended or target speed requirement of 130 km/h which means that any driver should - if traffic conditions and vehicle permit - drive at a speed of 130 km/h. Which is what the video mentions. There’s two reasons for the minimum and target speed mandates. 1. It ensures that the flow of traffic has a certain average minimum speed and that slow traffic doesn’t led to congestion (most German autobahn sections are congested with severe traffic due to the fact that Germany is in the center of Europe and experiences a lot of Intranet European transit traffic) 2. Autobahn is designed for a traffic flow optimum at 130 km/h i.e. the throughput or amount of vehicles per hour is maximized if the average speed is 130 km/h
3:50 high speed yes, but overtaking on the right is not allowed - and you need a distance to the front car 1/2 speed in meters e.g. 300 km/h (186 mph) - min. 150 m distance it is only possible because there are also very strict rules
Another reason traffic deaths is so much higher in usa is because here in europe we have something called common sense. In america they go like, "hey the speedlimit is 100mph then it must be safe to go this fast, I don't care if it's thick fog and ice on the road when the law says it's safe". In eurpoe nobody would drive like a maniac in conditions like that even if they legally could.
5:04 one of the reasons why driving a car in germany is so safe is because we aren't allowed to overtake on the right side. There is a "rechtsfahrgebot" wich makes it mandatory to drive on the lane as far right as possible
First rule to learn [for tourists]: Overtaking other cars on the right is strictly forbidden! The Lamborghini scene shown in the video would cost the driver 250,- Euro fine (due to endangering others), 2 points + he'll lose his drivers licence for 1 month (or longer if he already collected points from previous violations)
Only some sections are open speed. Quite a total distance is open speed but most is now restricted, and even open sections are impacted by maintenance and other temporary limits. As far as 200+kph is not unusual. Have driven over 210kph in VW Golf GTI and near 240kph in a sports car no longer sure if Alpha or Fiat. As passenger in a Mercedes we travelled at 265kph.. Experienced problem of speed while doing close to 180kph on curving downhill saw an overturned small van and banking traffic ahead. With activating hazard flasher standard practice to warn drivers behind that barking is for massive slowing not just light touch then braking firmly just short of lock up but light squeeling tyres, I stopped with only minimal distance of a few car lengths. Two cars from behind however ignoring hazard lights and brakes on zipped to fast lane and roared past me. Then discovering the scene ahead were left in very hard braking locking wheels , pre ABS days, with massive smoke and 4 black lines of tyre rubber. Both stopped with only 1/2 to 1 car length from crashing into already stopped cars. At those speeds the stopping distance even though actually not so long, was barely enough for reaction and braking with the limited sighting range coming downhill around a sweeping bend. Hate to imagine scene at well over 200kph at that location. Another scary incident was trying to drive slow due to fog obscuring cars mere few car length ahead. But at 80kph had numerous cars appear behind braking hard. Ended up like other traffic coping at 120kph. Had I had similar fog at home in Australia I doubt I would have wanted much over 60kph. A saving grace is there the cars have very bright single rear RED lamp for such foggy conditions, visible a little, maybe two car lengths earlier than normal tail lights. It was however impressive to travel 600km at close to constant 140 to 250 kph, with several short restricted 80kph zones for repairs or maintenance. So in 4 hrs did that 600km distance, then with heavy traffic another 180 km in another 2 hrs to around 90 kph average much at 60kph with short faster bits. Yet overall few places in the world could you travel 780 km 488 miles, in 6 hrs by car. That including one petrol stop, with refreshment and restroom visit.
No changes please. I am a Dutchman living in Germany. A speed limit of 100 km/h like in Holland is like a sleep limit, especially if you drive on cruise control. On the Autobahn you can get from a to b quickly if you want to but you always have to stay extra alert! Maybe that explains part of the difference in accidents between the USA and Germany.
I have lived in Germany for a few years during my study. From what i have experienced .. the Autobahn is one of the safer places to drive because people are usually focussed and flow fairly easily .. with what the video said .. around 130-180 kph. The things they showed in the video seemed very atypical for an Autobahn. Supercars overtaking on the right .. i have actually never seen anyone overtake on the right on the Autobahn in several years i have been there. Or supercars switching lanes like idiots .. also never seen. I would not say that this cannot be the Autobahn, because you get morons everywhere .. and there certainly ARE .. speed-tourists (or whatever you want to call people who only go there to speed .. while having little to no real fast-driving experience) .. but i do not think it is the norm. German drivers in general seem disciplined .. not so much on rural roads or in cities, where there is a lot more "getting into other drivers personal space" (or maybe it was just my friend then who generally ranted about others in traffic ... in a closed car where the only one hearing his rants was me .. - so totally pointless) I have not driven in Germany myself despite having a license. I got my license when i was 18 ... and own a Twizzy, which is classified a motorized vehicle (similar class to a electric scooter for a disabled person .. it only goes up to 50 kph .. on a good day .. with back wind) - so i would not want to drive a "real" car in Germany anyway. But when it comes to speed .. its odd. You might think .. 200 kph is a lot, but when you are with a good driver .. in a good car .. its silent, its smooth - and it does not feel too fast at all.
I love driving on the Autobahn, and I really appreciate that we don't have speed limits on straight and clearly visible sections. It's extremely relaxing to cruise 130 km/h (80 mph) recommended speed and if someone wants to overtake quickly or just want to push the pedal for a a few minutes of fun, then you can go faster if weather conditions and traffic allows it. Unfortunately, there are a few scenes in the video that show extremely reckless jerks and this is neither legal or the usual traffic on the autobahn.
You can pay a fee and enjoy speeding on a race track. The last thing Germany needs is thrill seekers from other countries. That is one of the reasons why many people are in favor of speed limits.
I think one of the main reasons why there are so few road deaths in Germany is not that there is no speed limit, but that we have a better training system for driver's license.
I think they should keep the no limit thing. As the video itself already said, average speed is around 140kmh so the vast majority of drivers are driving responsibly. Those drivers that were shown in the video weaving through traffic with their lambos, would probably drive the same way if there was a speed limit. I see that in my country a lot, we have 130kmh speed limit but some people will still drive 200+ If you drive responsibly on the autobahn (not weaving through traffic, simply being on the right lane and flooring it everytime you got clean road ahead of you) you are not really that fast. There are a lot of construction sites with 60 or 80 limit, regular 120 zones, a LOT of traffic and germans, for some reason, have a tendency to cut into your lane and make you slam the brakes. I measured my average speed on the autobahn over a trip at around 130kph and i went to about 180 everytime i got clean road (just a normal trip, not there to race). Then when i was back in my country i actually got an average of 135kph
The difference between the autobahn and all other roads in the world is, there are a lot less intersections (exits, gas stations,..) for slow moving cars and fast cars to mix. When there is 1 or when there are roadworks, there are very slow and strict limits. Other than that, it really is just, go as fast as you want on the LEFT LANE and not like those idiots swerving around the lanes. Highly dangerous, forbidden and stupid. Also people with plates from other countries can be really dangerous driving slow or cutting into middle or left lane. Watch out for those (mostly on border cities). German drivers respect the left lane and stick to right most lane. People just cruise around 180kmh/120mph on 2 lane roads, on 3 or 4 lanes when the trucks are seperated really well, you can just floor it. And if it's not too busy, find out your car top speed. On sundays, trucks are forbidden on it, just like most markets have to be closed (interesting laws). So on a sunday sunset moment on a long straight, you can enjoy your flight 😄😄😄
I'm sorry but that's just plain wrong. There are a ton of onramps and exits on the Autobahn, whereas e.g. on the Polish highway network there are only few of them around. Sometimes, onramps and exits on the German Autobahn are so close to each other that they share the same acceleration / exit lane
If you want to try it out, a few words of advice: 1. Not everywhere the speed is unlimited. Only 69% of the german Autobahn is unlimited. 2. If you don't have experience with the traffic situation in Germany, don't exceed 160 at first. You can't really tell how fast a car in the rear view mirror is going, so always think about the mistakes of others when they maybe don't see you coming. 3. If a german car on the right lane gets close to the car in front it will most definetely change lanes 4. If a german car is behind a truck and isn't there for a longer time it will most definetely change lanes 5. Always drive with a huge security distance. People will tell you about half of the speedometer, but if you try to make an emergency braking at 220kph you can't come to a full stop in 110 metres. It'll take you about 300 metres. If you want to check your distance, the delineators on the side of the road are exactly 50 metres apart. The stripes are 6 metres long, the distance between the stripes is 12 metres. 6. If you want to go fast: Get a driver who is responsible and has driven past 200kph before. Don't get into a car of some show-off and definetely don't get into a car of a german salesman. Most of them are a danger to society while they are in their cars. Ask them about the security distance at 200kph. If they say "half of the speedometer" or "halber Tachoabstand" or 100 metres... don't get into the car when they drive at those speeds 7. If the traffic gets thicker, slow down. 8. You are never... ever... ever allowed to overtake on the right side. If somebody crawls on the left lane, stay behind him, maybe flash your highbeams once with the proper security distance, but if he doesn't change lanes, accept it and get on the right lane. Those people are annoying but you'll meet them. Don't want to spoil your experience but most foreigners are overwhelmed with the possibility of those speeds and create dangerous situations out of inexperience (germans also do it , but they do it on purpose, because they are stupid)
Here is how I see it as a citizen in Germany: yes there's traffic but only on times where people go to work/off work, mid day break, those are the traffic times.Or some cuz of accidents.. There are speed limits, so yes it's sections of no speed limits but long enough I would say. There are also country side roads with no speed limit, but those are a little more dangerous, like don't exaggerate with the speed ya know
In terms of the fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2020: Australia's rate of 4.26 was ranked 20th out of the 36 nations. The nations with the three lowest rates were Norway (1.73), Sweden (1.98) and Iceland (2.20). Between 2011 and 2020 Australia's fatality rate declined by 25.4 per cent.
For me, 160 km/h (100 mph) is a comfortable cruising speed on the autobahn. A little faster on short journeys. I also prefer to concentrate on the traffic than having to keep an eye on the speedometer.
It is an urban legend, some minor parts have no limit. More and more sections are limited to 120kph. Yesterday 600km drive and 100km of that restricted even to 80kph because of road work everywhere. However saw just 3 people working on all of the 20 sections restricted for renovations. Sure for a short moment I was capable to drive faster then 200kph, but for dealing with distances you will be faster on french or polish highways.
Hallo, German here. Every Clip of overtaking on the right Side of a "lower speed car" is illegal. The Main Rule of a German Autobahn is, if you can get your Way on your actual Speed on the right Side for more than 15 Secounds without overtaking right, you have to drive on the right Side. Overtaking on the right Side of a car is highly illegal. So just the Moment of Overtaking is the part you have to look to your left Mirror and the Backmirror, if someone can be in your Way. Driving more than 220 km/h is rare to actually go by common sense. Driving more than 220 km/h is mostly possible by Night or in the early Mornings. Common Sense make the Saftiness, dont look on your Smartphone and dont get distracted by your Passengers. Just stay calm and focus on the Road
I have to add, that only around 1/3 or so of the Autobahn is without speed limit. The other areas, where for example there are drive-on or drive-offs or in tunnels or over bridges, there are always speed limitations, mostly 100 km/h. When there is no limitation, you are nevertheless encouraged to not exceed 130 km/h. But if you do so, you will not get punished as long as you don't harm others or drive like a real risk for others (now one could argue, that driving that fast does always pose a risk for yourself and others, but that's another story...)
I got a love/hate relationship with the autobahn. I love it cuz it makes the drive to the nurburgring very fast (driving from north of the netherlands) but i hate it cuz the engine of my car blew up at 270kph (165mph)
If you have the money and need to buy a car that's actually designed to handle these speeds (which includes stopping, most normal car brakes can't handle these insane high speed stops) and you can afford the fuel for it, go to a track. People commuting to work and your idea of a fun drive on the same road do not mix, no matter how "careful" you are.
In Germany we have no or hardly any speed limits, but we have a lot of different rules, for example we are only allowed to overtake on the left and must, if possible, always drive on the right
I was there in April, and I liked flying there, from Berlin to Hamburg, without restrictions, in the dark, and when I went down from Wolfsburg to Ingolstadt, there were many repairs on the road. UPD ______________ But you have to be very careful, and calculate the situation on the road 5 steps ahead, too high speeds, and overtaking on the right is not desirable
the nice thing about it is that germany is in the middle of europe so whenever you go from west to east or vice versa you get this autobahn speed bonus through a good chunk of the way
one of the reasons in germany tehnical inspection is very strict, and you cant mount whatever you like on the car, while in the USA you can mount f16 wing on the car and still drive it...
in germany most Accidents on highways happen in slower swetions, like roadworks or at the end of traffic jams and mostly contains trucks which had a speed limit of 80km/h
Germany has 13192 km of "Bundesautobahn" (BAB). More than half of the length has no speed limit (for passenger cars) but a recommended speed of 130 km/h. Buses/coaches or cars with camping trailers are restricted to 100 km/h (if certain conditions are met), anything else above 3.5 t or with trailer 80 km/h. One third of the length has a fixed speed limit, the rest a conditional speed limit (depending on the time of day/night or the weather). Since the BAB are in federal administration, the speed limits are set by the federal government. Bremen (a rather small city state) happens to have no unlimited stretches of highway, the highest permitted speed there is 120 km/h. And of course there can be temporary speed limits for a variety of reasons (usually road works or maintenance). Note that Germany has rather strict requirements for obtaining a driving licence, and also requires regular safety checks of road vehicles, which might contribute to the relatively lower numbers of accidents.
Hello, German here. Many of the scenes shown are illegal in Germany. I like to drive fast, but safety first. Only overtake in the left lane, keep your distance (stopping distance approx. 400m at 200km/h!). take care of everyone No selfishness. Accept - or rather expect - that others make mistakes. Never had any problems on the Autobahn. Learn how to drive fast, take your time. Some say you're an experienced driver after 100,000 km... Don't try to drive 200 km/h on your first day, you have to get used to the speed, you have to learn bad bad situations - that means you have to survive first.
Im Dane and have driven many thousands of kilometres on the German Autobahn. It takes time to learn the rythm and you have accept the strict discipline it takes to drive fast. If you dont respect the rules and discipline, you can be certain the Germans will remind you! And the concept of we help each other making the traffic flow in order to go fast is awesome and unique for Germany. The Germans has managed to make fastest and safest motorway system in the world
Having driven on autobahns for several years whilst teaching in Germany this video is full of inaccuracies. There are many stretches of autobahn that are speed controlled, lane discipline is generally so much better but there are cases of ‘undertaking’ which are frightening at high speed, usually because some drivers hog the outside overtaking lane. Many of the original autobahns are still two lanes so speed restrictions apply.
Also from Germany here. Usually if everyone behave like they learned it, there should be no incidents because of speed. But you got often unexperienced drivers with to fast vehicles on the road. If you got a new motorbike license you need to drive a version of your bike with less horsepower for i think 2 years before you can go full power. But for cars that is not the case as far as i know. Most times the incidents are caused NOT by the speeding person... its caused by slower people that are sleeping... drive careless... dont look before changing the lane... because "usually" when you drive 200-300kmh... you are on the edge and concentrated... people that drive around with 100kmh... sometimes are so distracted that they much more often make errors...
Its also for a car.
Its not hard to drive 200kmph in some new Audi or Mercedes
Try driving 200kmph in old Bmw E36 or something
Know your limits and your car's limits.
I am so angry about this video from xplane. They showed so many dangerous and reckless driving situations that are completely illegal on the highway even on German Autobahn.
You were absolutely right commenting "within reason, right? within reason?"
YES, you always have to adapt your speed to the traffic, you are allowed to pass only on the left, you are not allowed to endanger other and you always have to have your car und full control and be able to stop within seeing distance.
Do not endanger others is the first rule of driving - literally. You just look into the StVO (roughly translates to regulation codex for public driving - it's a LAW!)
You think as an american. Germans can drive much better then Americans. The age of being able to get your drivers licence is 18, not 16 when they are still kids. To get a drivers licence it is WAY more strict and more difficult to get it like in the US and they are they get much more and more indepth training then in the US or even the Netherlands where am from. Most of them are also more gentleman then in the US where they are more selfish and more egocentric then in Germany during traffic. And they are more used to high speeds then us. My speed limit at german autobahn is 270km/h. You should visit Germany first before you can judge. One thing is true. Compared to the US there are much fewer accidents but IFF ther is an accident then it is deadly many times of what i have seen.
@@clemensnetherlands7331 you are funny, I am German and have my license for more than 30 years. I know exactly what I'm talking about. 😄
Exactly my thoughts. I'm baffled by the chosen clips in this somewhat 'documentary-style' Video about our Autobahn. Sometimes I wish that confiscation without compensation on such speeding would be coming faster like in switzerland.
Grüße aus dem Rheinland :D
And? People are allowed to show dangerous and reckless driving situations, it's not like they're promoting anything illegal. I love how people get angry and being woke about something that doesn't really affect them, they're just footage.
I got my US driver's license in Los Angeles. On a Thursday I had the idea, on Friday I took the test and passed. That would be impossible in Germany. There I studied the exam questions every day for 3 months and it was still quite difficult to pass the exam.
One reason (besides better driver training) why there are fewer accident fatalities is that we have the "TÜV" where the cars are inspected. New cars must be inspected after three years, after which the inspection interval changes to a two-year cycle. If the Tüv existed in the US, 50% of cars would be shut down. ;)
I got my german driver's license in Cologne. I had the idea last century as a child and my mom was showing to my piggy bank. A decade later, I payed the bill and passed the test. That would be impossible in United States. ☺️
Just to make it clear, the same process is in place on all other European countries.
There's no "driving with parents", you need to pass the theory test with at least 83% to be allowed into the car with an instructor. They you drive several hours, learn parallel parking, starting uphill and so on, all on a manual transmission, only then to be allowed to take the practical test.
Which people fail miserably. I know a lady who passed on her fifth or sixth time. Most of my małe friends had to try at least twice.
It's easy to get a driver's license in LA. You just have to drive around the block, don't shoot anyone, and you're good to go.
@@LMB222 Not quite correct, accompanied driving has also existed in Germany since 2004. You can start driving lessons at around 16.5 years (driving license at 17), but you need co-drivers who have had a driving license for at least 5 years, without points in Flensburg. And don't forget that everyone's driving license is issued on a probationary basis for a period of 2 years. If you are caught driving too fast during this time (or worse = e.g. drunk driving), you not only pay the fine, but you have to prove an additional test/training + extension of the probationary driver's license.
@@LMB222 This is wrong. In Luxemburg there is the driving with parents, where you can even start before you're 18, but you have to be enrolled in a driving school and have done a certain amount of hours with a driving instructor (no need to mention you have to do theory classed prior and pass the written exam).
In Belgium in the other hand (or at least it used to be like that in 2010) you can enroll in a school, just do the written exam and only do the practical exam and boom you have your driving licence. That is the reason why most of these cunts can't drive, don t know the zipper rule (REIßVERSCHLUSSVERFAHREN), or always cut priority while entiring round-abouts.
I heared France is/was similar, because in Luxemburg they fear more the Baquettes than the Fries ("French" Fries come from Belgium!), and even in Belgium the Baquettes are considered bad drivers.
In the end only proper training and high expectations of knowledge of the laws (StVo, Coude de la route,... ) during exams lead to safer roads. Maybe also a variaty of other options that are reasonable, because why bother driving for x hours spent y minutes or hours looking for a parking, pay z amount of parking fees or risk getting towed, when you can travel by bus/train/tram/taxi/... for similar prices (or even cheaper) with barely more time for travel and having no stress?
Just to answer your question on speed limits in the US vs. Germany. You have to keep in mind, that to get a drivers license in Germany you are required to complete a full drivers course held by professional driving instructors in cars specially set up for this task (the instructor on the passenger seat has a full set of pedals and the car has extra mirrors, so that the instructor can take over control at any time). This entails multiple 45 minute sessions of driving which also includes a minimum of 12 special sessions (motorway, country road and night time driving) as well as a written and practical exam held by a 3rd party (usually the TÜV which would be equal to the entity in the US that is in charge of inspecting cars for road worthiness depending on what state you are in).
On top of all that, from my experience in driving in the US, the highways would not permit this, as the road surfaces are partially not good enough. Especially when crossing bridges, the impacts on the wheels are really jaring at the low speeds that are permitted. Just imagine what these impacts would do to tires, suspension and spines at double or tripple the speed.
We also have that system in Romania,they dont have driving lessons in the us?
@@andreiionescu205 Rudimentary ones, in comparison.
@@GoldenCroc germans are also much more disciplined in everything they do,driving being one of those things,having these autobahns,You must be a good and experienced driver to drive there
@@andreiionescu205 Quite right. People are almost as lazy about driving correctly everywhere, but the higher speed forces people to pay attention.
@@andreiionescu205 Yes and no. They do have rudimentary driving lessons, but quite often parents teach their children how to drive and thus pass on any bad driving habits or any existing ignorance about road rules or missing information on how to take care of the functions of the vehicle (combine this with many states having no mandatory checkups on roadworthiness and you can understand why so many junkers are driving on the roads in some videos on CZcams) down to their children along with any general knowledge on how to operate the vehicle.
You are absolutly right!
Not all of these clips are from the german Autobahn - almost all blurry ones are from different countries.
Probably most if not all of the dashcam footage is not from Germany, as the use of dashcams is illegal here.
Thats wrong.
1:10 1:20 1:30 2:04 2:20 2:36 2:48 7:00 7:55 are from Germany.
Dascams are allowed. You just can`t film/record constantly and without reason. Its permissable for the cam to automaticly save the last Minute before and after an accident by G-Sensor or Button.
Dascams sind erlaubt. Man darf nur nicht ohne Anlaß dauernd aufnehmen.
Es ist zulässig, daß die Cam die letzten Minuten vor und nach einem Unfall automatisch per G-Sensor oder per Knopfdruck speichert.
@@holgerczubka5453 Okay, kinda expected something like that. Thank you for clearing that up. 👍
And the clip with the yellow lane stripes (construction area) is speed up. No one would drive so fast in a construction zone
@@Hoschie-ww7io You sure bro? Nobody? The amout of times I've seen some swarthy Truk in a AliExpress tuned BMW or VW going flat out trough a construction zone is comical.
As a German who Drives alot in the Autobahn i Mist say i dont need Speed Limits Most of the time the Autobahn is full of Traffic so U cant Go fast anyway. And If you are lucky enough to get a free Part of it its Up to you how fast you wanna go. Most important is the distance between the Cars thats the reason Crashes Happen Not the Speed
Is it true that when you go over 130km/h you are not covered by your insurance company anymore?
@@operius2385 yes the insurance company can be canceld or you have too pay by your own
@@operius2385 Not really! Only if u drive to(!) fast. 200 on an empty and dry Autobahn is no problem. 150 with much traffic and even Rain. Your insurance propably will say u were to fast an wont pay.
@@operius2385 Not really If you Crash at 130+ U have to explaine why the Crash happend and If they think IT was cause of Dangerous driving they can say " we dont pay" but as far as i know they pay the damage
@@operius2385 this gets decided case by case. If it gets jugded that you are partly to blame for causing an accident because of speeding on the autobahn your insurance will also only cover it partly.
What i can also tell you is that we are bound by law to have a insurance that pays for dmg we cause by accident, that gets called "gesetzliche haftpflichtversicherung" in english "statutory liability insurance". This insurance is responsible for this cases and actually it is pretty safe if you would compare it to us insurance stuff. cause this insurance covers about anything even at very high prices. A bit offtopic but my father is a smoker and had the glorious idea to throw a still glowing cigarette into a really tall tree in our neighbors garden during a drought in summer. Of course the tree burned to the ground. Our insurance covered the full dmg for us and our neighbors even tho they knew that my father was to blame and even tho they knew what he did. (The dmg was in the 2000 euro area)
So i could imagine that our insurance would also cover dmg caused by going over 130 if there is no speedlimit on the driven part of the autobahn. This is of course just how i would imagine that, after all i can only talk about my experience so take it with a grain of salt.
Greetings from niedersachsen/germany 💖
To quote Jeremy Clarkson;
‘Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… That’s what gets you.’
scrolling through comments thinking this and here it is ... sometimes his genius is almost frightening.
makes the same sense as "Guns don't kill people, bullets do...." reckless speeding kills people.... also becoming stationary all of a sudden isn't a thing if ur speeding since most of the time after u hit something shit is flying everywhere...including u.. unless u park in the ass of a truck which is stationary cause of a traffic-jam at 250km/h
Driving on the Autobahn was on my bucket list and although I rented a non high performance car I was able to experience the absolute exhilaration of high speed driving. What impressed me was that for the most part the drivers were focused on driving, keeping to the right unless passing, not drinking beverages or using cell phones. Keep the freedom alive!!
One of the great things about the Autobahn are the resting areas. Almost everywhere there is a resting spot within 10 minutes so it's quite easy to keep the focus on driving.
Well.. at that high speed you have to be focused on driving. If you drive a standard mid class car and going over 200 km/h you better not check your emails or playing with your radio while driving. No speed limit while having one of the lowest death rates on highways just works when you drive responsible and stay focused on what is important.
And even if it sound strange to others: safety first at all time is most important. Even if you are driving as fast as Nascars do.
@@filegrabber1 I noticed that as well, since the driving on the autobahn does involve more concentration than regular driving those rest stops are a nice way to readjust ones focus.
Using the cell phone or drinking while driving is strictly illegal in Germany. You get high fines for that. Also we have Rechtsfahrgebot. You are forbidden to use the left line when not overtaking. We follow these rules strictly because with the great speed comes great responsibility. Driving in the US seemed a bit whilly nilly for me when I was there. Everyone drove where he wanted. There was no real order on the highway. Overtaking right was common to do.
Meanwhile in backwater Australia.
1:10 That's of course illegal in Germany - generally around continental Europe you have to overtake on the left lane.
4:10 about 70% of the complete system are without speed limit.
7:30 exactly, some from the US and other countries as well.
It's around 55%, not 70
@@pascalf9602 Nah its 70. Its just that there are like 13% of temporary Temp Limits caused by road construction in addition to 57% of no speed Limit.
About Montana, it was until 1974 where you could drive as fast as you wanted within daylight but they stopped it. There were two main reasons for that. The way americans are used to drive and the quallity / design of the road. Btw: Almost any of the crashes shown in this video, where not from the german Autobahn. It showed Italy, England and Russia for example :D
and what anoys me is, that a lot of them (in the videos) overtook on the right side, that would be also a reason for a fine
1995-99 also
I’m from the Netherlands and love to drive on the autobahn when I’m in Germany. But you do need to be responsible with the car that you have, I could probably max out at let’s say 220kph but that’s not wise, my brakes are really not designed for that like say a Audi RS, so I just stay well below 170 or 180. Use your head and expect to be able to react in time if someone else does something unexpected.
As a german who has been several times to the Netherlands I prefer your highways. The german Autobahn is not in such a good shape as yours.
@@LLUstgBtl272 Dutch roads are way smoother but you can only do 100 during the day which makes everybody drive like lorry drivers passing each other one going 0.001 km/h faster than the other. Good luck if you want to be somewhere and aren't just stress free cruising on your time off.
I'm Dutch too, "best" I ever did was a 180 in an old Toyota, just to watch Audi's and Porches fly by me. This was late in the evening so it was pretty quiet.
255 in my insignia! 😍
German here. Autobahn? No speed limit? Trust me, it gets old pretty fast (no pun intended) when you have it every day.
Especially when you occasionally experience the situation where you have to get rid of all that speed within fractions of a second. Which will happen.
You'll be facing the back of a 44-ton semi pulling out at a solid 60 mph and its like flying towards a stationary concrete wall. If the distances don't add up all that's left is an ugly smear on that semi's rear end. It happens.
Also keep in mind that the autobahn is designed for speed, complete mountains are dug away so that the curvature and elevation of the roads allow these speeds.
Looks like you have never driven the A3 between Frankfurt and Cologne or the A9 and A72 between Nuremberg and Dresden.
South of Munich nearing the border to Austria you have no limit (at least some years ago), but only two lanes and quite tight curves (for an Autobahn). I had a standard car capable of 200km/h (which I was testing at that trip) but there I went down to 160-170km/h because I didn't feel safe with full throttle. So no limit doesn't mean you can physically drive it everywhere (depending on car). And I switched off the radio because i didn't hear much anyways because I had to concentrate. Only partly on steering but on observing everything ahead of me. If someone slower decides to switch lanes you have only a very short time to react.
it is important to note, that not every part of the Autobahn is speed limit free, there are a lot of parts where you need to folow the speed limit
I‘m pretty much on the Autobahn once or twice a week. When there is a lot of traffic I adapt and drive slower. But many times especially in the late hours there is little traffic and I enjoy to go faster. No crazy speed but fast enough to not get bored. I would not die when a general speed limit would be introduced, but I would definitely not be happy either. The greatest problem on the Autobahn are people not moving to the right lane when they have passed other cars or worse they do not pay enough attention when they want to pass.
Germany has three categories of roads. Each of them has a default speed limit, one of which is unlimited. The road sign removing limitations just reverts you to the default.
Yes the difference between a "general" speed limit and a "local" (signed) speed limit.
General means - If there is no other local speed limit (by signs) the general limit is valid.
The three general speed limits are
1.) 50km/h in built-up area ("Geschlossene Ortschaften") - visible by a rectangular yellow sign with the name of the village/town/city. Something like the "city limits" in the US.
2.) 100km/h outside build-up areas
3.) 130km/h recommended (aka "It would be nice when you drive only at this speed but you can go faster") speed limit on Autobahnen and "Autobahnähnlichen Bundesstrassen" (A road needs the official status of an Autobahn (then the roads got the blue signs) to be classified as such. In some areas there are Federal Roads (Bundesstrasse - yellowish signs) build with the same standard as an official Autobahn but they do not have the official status and at these "build with Highway standard" parts of the roads the general Autobahn speed recommendation is also valid).
One Example of such a "like a highways" road is the B9 between Brohl-Lützing and Coblence - until the early 2000's no speed limit, now partly (by local signs) limited to 80km/h at Brohl-Lützing (because direct on the outside of the crash-barrier is now a pedestrian and bike path) and beween Andernach and Coblence 120km/h.
Another one was or is (it was in the late 80s - I do not know the current status) the B49 between Limburg and Marburg.
Another "fun" fact: The status "Bundestrasse" (federal road - abbreviation B+No. like B1, B258,... ), "Landstrasse" (State road - abbreviation L+number e.g. L123), "Kreisstrasse" (Countyroad abbreviation K+Number e.g. K23a) has no hint what kind of road this is (e.g. B-roads are always like interstates, L-roads like trunk roads and K-streets are graveled paths in the forrest) - It only means who is resposible for the road maintenance (aka who paid it - the State, the County or the federal goverment).
My opinion on this is that, it is not the speed limit that is the problem, but the attitude drivers have towards general traditional laws etc. Such as keeping a distance to the vehicle in front by using the 3 second rule. (when the vehicle in front passes a given point, e.g. an intersection, it must take 3 seconds before your vehicle passes the same point) To always overtake on the left side. To always look back before changing lanes. To always use direction indicators in good time before changing lanes or turning. Always keeping an eye on what is happening far ahead of the vehicle, so you have time to act if you have to slow down significantly without panic braking. etc.
that 3 second rule sucks because the higher your speed is the bigger should be the distance to the car in front of you that why half your speed is the minimum distance is better. 100kph 50m to the guy in front 180kph 90m and so on but that only works because the autobahn has markers on the side 50m apart to easier judge your distance. i agree with the rest of your statment of course
3 sec rule is for 10 to 90km/h. If you drive faster, use your common sence. 😁
@@frozenkillerwith the 3sek(I know it as 2sek) rule the distance also increases and with two seconds the distance you have is the same as with the half you speed rule (a few meters more). But you have the benefit that most people are better at estimating two seconds than estimating a distance.
There are More things to Keep in mind.
1. Getting drivers licence is Hard and expensive. You will be trained to drive Good.
2. Autobahn is in Good Shape and take often maintaince.
3. Cars Must Go to TÜV. It’s a 2 year Test the Cars Must Go through. So Cars also in Good shape.
4. there are strict rules like Dont overtake on the right side.
in addition every change u make has to be approved by the TÜV..... if u do something that impacts the performance of the car and u don't have a valid TÜV for that ... there goes the license for a while + the fine
as clarkson sayd ... “Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that's what gets you.” is extremly funny and true:)
Lower Traffic related death may be due to more training required to get a driver license, and more rules on the road, you are for example only allowed to overtake on the left side
Last weekend i drove on the Autobahn back from Koblenz to the Belgium border. It was about 17 o'clock and i could drive 220km/h for a long distance. It was quiet on the road. My car is capable of driving 243km/h and is a standard Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B. with 245 hp. Even then i have to watch in the mirror so and then because there can always come a way faster car. So you have to look and anticipate.
3:00 It got the nickname diplomat’s raceway later (when Bonn was the capital of Germany).
The B9 (federal road No. 9) through Bonn was also called Diplomat's Racetrack. It connects Bonn-Bad-Godesberg (where all the Embassies where) to the former Goverment Area (Seat of the President, Parlament, etc.) and the Airport.
Because Diplomats often didn't pay their fine (the doesn't need to) they didn't care about the Speed limits.
90 % of the clips in the original video aren't even from the Autobahn.
This clips are not in Germany
Why we have fewer traffic fatalities in Germany, despite autobahns without speed limits? Maybe it's because of that:
Registration: Sign up with a driving school.
Vision test and first aid course: Take a vision test and a first aid course. You will need these certificates to apply for your driver's license.
Application: The application for the driver's license is usually made by the driving school. The processing time typically takes at least 5 weeks, in this time you can already start with the driving training, but not yet take the test.
Theory lessons: Once you have paid the fees, you can start directly with the theory lessons. There are 14 different theory units, each unit lasts 90 minutes. They cover all important areas of road traffic and driving. 2 units cover additional material and must be attended. In the other 12 basic units you only have to be present at least 12 times, so theoretically you could also attend the same basic unit 12 times.
Practical lessons: You arrange regular driving lessons with your driving instructor, usually directly 90 minutes, so 2 driving lessons. There is no minimum number for basic driving lessons. The average is at least 18 hours, depending on your ability even less is enough. Really obligatory are then only the 12 special driving hours, which also cost more: they consist of 5 intercity, 4 highway and 3 night driving.
Theory test: If you have done all the hours, you can register for the theory test. This can be done at most 3 months before the minimum age allowed. There are about 1,000 questions, 30 of which are asked and you are allowed a maximum of 10 demerits in the exam.
Practical test: Your driving instructor knows when you are ready for the practical driving test. You can take it a maximum of one month before the minimum age allowed. The examiner tells you what to do during the test, for example where to turn, where and how to park. You pass the test if you drive for 45 minutes without making any serious mistakes.
Greetings from Germany 🙂
Hey , don’t forget the No Speed Limit zones in the Northern Territory Australia
THE Northern Territory now has 300-kilometers of unrestricted highway speed-limits after the government approved new changes overnight. A further 60-kilometre stretch of the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs will be free of speed limits, allowing those behind the wheel to drive to the conditions.
Are you Spamming ? The Territory used to be De-Restrict right through the North-South Road until the Ran a " Cannonball " Event up there , long ago .
There was an Horrific Accident at one of the Checkpoints with 5 deaths occurring . This led to a Federal Law that the National Limit was 100 km/h .
The " Ghostbusters " signs DO still exist here and there around the place , but they MEAN 100 . Any time one of those gets replaced , a Number replaces it .
A State can post a Higher limit on certain Roads , BUT , they have to be SPECIFIC as to what that higher limit is .
@@johncunningham4820 confusing as the state max in WA is 110kmh
@@anon17472 . Also in NSW . On MOTORWAYS and only when Posted .
Nationally , in the absence of a Posted Speed , in an Unbuilt Up area , the General Speed Limit is 100 . State Regulatory signage CAN ascribe higher limits in designated areas .
Ohh, no thank you sir! That looks like some kangaroo will kill me at any time going 100hm/h not to mention the 250 I drive to work... The Autobahn has special animal bridges and fencing against noise and animals. And Rails so you don't fly of in the flora and tumble 28 times...
@@NavySeal2k . A Kangaroo is unlikely to Kill you at 100 km/h . May well make a Write-Off out of your Car though . Depends on the Size of the 'Roo .
A Tyre failure at 250 , on the other hand............................................................
100 klicks is WELL within Easy Visual Range . 250 maybe not so much . Zero reaction time available at those speeds .
When I went to Germany, I caught a train and it did 200km. Yet you really can't tell, how fast you are going unless there was something was passing you.
Hii
In Germany you have a race track for all vehicles where there is no speed limit. It is available, of course, with payment and a test of safe behavior on the track itself. So you can drive there with your own car and push it to the limit, or you can rent a car at the track itself.
Das hört sich irgendwie so an, wie wenn du den Leuten sagen würdest, dass JEDER hier in Deutschland eine Rennstrecke hat. Also klar, ich verstehe schon was du meinst!:)))
In Germany (like in the USA or in other countries) we have the option(!) to rent time on a professional racing track like the Nürnburg-Ring (Formula One ... or in America at Nascar tracks).
In other words: Matjaz is just an responsible adult! Autobahnen are NO racing tracks! They are just streets. Not more and no less. Greetings from a German, voluntary-firefighter, overwatching some tiny parts of the "Autobahn 5". Have a relaxing and accident-free holidays, guys!:)
@@dieSpinnt You're right, when I reread it, the meaning is out of context. I meant private racetracks! Translating and keeping track of the text is very complicated, especially when translators make their own corrections.
@@matjazwalland903 Your phrasing is nothing bad either:) I just noticed it and wanted to be nice. Thanks for not thinking I'm a bad woman who just wants to correct you (which unfortunately is the norm on Twitter, CZcams, or whatever).
Thanks for your answer:) Dankeschön:)
... and it is called the Nürburgring, located on the very Western part of Germany.
Fun Fact:
There is a general Speed Limit in Germany
Here in Germany we got an Airspace called Golf or just "G" where the Max speed limit is 250 Kn or 456 Km/h and Starts from the Ground.
So Technically when nothing from the Car touches the Ground you can be sued for Airspace violation.
The huge difference in deaths in the US vs Germany comes from how you obtain your license. In all of Europe to have a driver's license you need to pass 2 exams and have at least 25 - 30h of practice under surveillance of a accredited teacher. In the US as I know is very easy to obtain your driver's license.
Greetings from Germany. Germans are by no means more "rational" than others. The HUGE (just look at the freely available data, see "Verkehrsunfälle in Deutschland - Statistisches Bundesamt" = "Traffic accidents in Germany - Federal Statistical Office") progress to save lives is entirely due to modern safety technology, engineering performance and road planning.
Fixed by population, Americans, Italians, Australians, Indians, etc. are on par! Yeah, when you show, watch or think about extraordinary BS like poor people killing themselves by riding a train with mattresses and donkeys ... one may think different. But that are just stereotypes and the "interesting" things you get to see on CZcams or the media. The ordinary boring stuff, as REAL LIFE ... ist just ordinary and boring, or?:)
Look at the data. I don't have to say anything more than that.
I wish you and the community refreshing and accident-free holidays, Gabis!:)
North American city planning and street design is another big problem. There are really a lot of crashes outside of highways on "regular" roads that might be wider than your average 6 lane autobahn, but still have intersections every few meters. It's build like a highway, super straight, wider, you barely notice when you reach 60mph, but at the same time you have a ton of traffic, a lot of parking lots and intersection on the way and occasional someone actually is mad or poor enough to take a bike or walk on the sides of those roads.
They are commonly referred to as stroads (at least by people who really hate them) because they combine elements of normal streets and roads in the kind of worse possible mix and make traffic several times more dangerous and it should be. The lack of drivers education comes on top of the bad design.
@@Traumglanzhii
1:09 absolutely no speed limit is wrong. As far as I know 50% of the Autobahn-system are unrestricted. There are some speed limits in regions where the autobahn is older, has more turns as usual or has some bridges and tunnels.
Yes Ian, you got it, a lot of clips are from different States (or country whatever you call) US (can easily recognized by the licence plate and left lane hoggers and the Bugatti drivers do an illegal overtake on the right) Russia (that blueish car that lost control) Czech Republic (the video of the F2 Dallara in the highway)
Good thing you can legally overtake on the right here in Poland so idiots who block the left lane are easier to overtake.
@@darek4488 wait a moment, in Italy passing cars on the right is allowed if the lane has been kept and the speed constant, for example the imbecile who improperly occupies the left lane goes to 80 km/h while you, with the speed of 100, can pass on the right, however to avoid being stopped by the PolStrada (short term of Polizia Stradale in common language or only Stradale) you have to keep the lane and speed, if you change lane it is defined overtaking, then in that case they do not stop those who went to 80 on the left but you. I don't know in Germany, but i think they are more strict in this situation. Maybe we have the same concept for this situation (talking about Poland and Italy)
@@marco_grt4460 In German there is the "Rechtsfahrgebot". It means that you HAVE to drive on the right except when you are overtaking. Of course if you are driving really fast and overtake a lot of people you can stay on the left lane - but if there is no reason (no overtake) you should not be on the left lane - even if you go 250+ kph.
@@marco_grt4460 In Poland you don't have to keep the lane or speed. You can drop a gear, put the right indicator on to change the lane and go full throttle on the right. It is just legal to overtake on either side. However it is only allowed on one-way roads and two-way roads where the traffic directions are separated like highways.
@@darek4488 good to know, thank you for the information
Its funny that a lot of foreigners think Autobahn is just one short race track. It is just our German word for highway.
Good morning Ian and greetz from Germany. The initial Idea for the Autobahn came from Konrad Adenauer, Mayor of Cologne in 1932 👍 Wishing you and your family a great weekend. Keep the great videos coming ✌
As someone who would have the best knowledge haven't they restricted speed on some parts of the autobahn and put speed limits in place during certain times of day?
@@erose1710 Yes thats exactly how it is, many parts of the autobahn have speed limits. and yes there are also speed limits that depend on the time.. mainly in cities
@@erose1710 Only a small percentage of the Autobahn has unrestricted Speed limit. Most of it is limited to 130kmh which is mostly around cities where the traffic volume is higher.
@@hilpi75 Most of Australia's highways couldn't manage 130kmh, not because cars can't go that fast, it's because the roads are poorly maintained. I'd love to have an autobahn or highway as well managed as the ones in Germany.
Vor ein paar Jahren war ich täglich etwa 100 Kilometer je Wegstrecke auf der Autobahn unterwegs. Auf der Fahrt zur Arbeit war ich im Feierabend-Verkehr im Stau oder stockenden Verkehr gestanden, als ich dann selbst gegen 2 Uhr in der Nacht nach Hause gefahren bin, hatte ich freie Bahn, war quasi alleine auf der Straße unterwegs und bin mein Auto ausgefahren. Das hat mir sehr gefallen und ganz ehrlich, wenn man die Strecke wirklich gut kennt und alleine unterwegs ist, braucht es kein Geschwindigkeitslimit - mir jedenfalls war es vollkommen egal. ^^
Viele der Szenen aus dem Video sind einfach nur dumm gewesen. Wer in Deutschland einen Führerschein macht, der muss etwa 20 Stunden zur Theorie in der Fahrschule lernen, dann muss man die theoretische Fahrprüfung ablegen. Dann muss man in der Praxis fahren lernen, dazu kommen noch 12 Pflichtstunden, vier auf der Autobahn, vier bei der Nachfahrt und nochmals vier Überlandfahrt, also auf der Landstraße. Dann erst macht man die Prüfung. Im Grunde ist man mindestens drei Monate damit beschäftigt das Autofahren zu lernen.
Hinzu kommt noch der TÜV. Jedes in Deutschland gemeldete Auto muss alle zwei Jahre zum TÜV um auf die Sicherheit überprüft zu werden. Da wird jeder sicherheitsrelevante Teil des Autos genau angesehen - damit eben keine Unfälle passieren.
Mit Verlaub, ich habe schon viele Videos aus den USA gesehen und dort gibt es sowas wie unseren TÜV definitiv nicht, oder die Beamte sind besoffen ^^ - denn wenn man viele der Schrottkisten sieht, die in den USA auf den Straßen fahren, würde ich nur ungerne die Straße mit solchen unsicheren Autos teilen wollen, vor allem nicht wenn die so schnell fahren dürften, wie die Fahrer wollten!!! 😀
Zudem muss man natürlich sagen das die deutsche Automobilindustrie qualitativ hochwertige Autos produziert die allesamt unvernünftig schnell fahren können. Diese Autos sind zudem sehr teuer und sind für etwa 2 Millionen Jobs in Deutschland verantwortlich. Dazu zählen natürlich auch die ganzen Zulieferer für die Autobauer, bis hin zum Marketing und den Banken. Wenn man in Deutschland nun ein Geschwindigkeitslimit einführen würde, so würde mir persönlich kein Grund einfallen 50.000€, und mehr für ein deutsches Auto auszugeben.
Ganz ehrlich, ich kann es auch wirklich nicht verstehen, warum man überall auf der Welt Sportwagen für mehr als 100.000€ kauft. Ein Porsche in den USA mit einem Geschwindigkeitslimit von 80 oder 100 Meilen pro Stunde ist einfach nur lächerlich. Mein ersten eigenes Auto war ein Golf II mit 55 PS, der ist auch 160 km/h auf der Autobahn gefahren - und ich habe es geliebt! Spannend war jeder Überholvorgang wenn man aus dem Windschatten eines schweren 40-Tonnen-LKW gefahren ist, und der einsetzende Wind meinen kleinen Golf um einen Meter nach links gerückt hat. 😀
Lange ist es her.
Viele Grüße
PS: Eines noch, ich fürchte mich ja mehr vor ausländischen Touristen die in Deutschland mit mehr als 200 km/h mit einem Leihwagen über die Autobahn rasen, um sich einen Herzenswunsch zu erfüllen, als vor sehr vielen anderen Dingen, die einem im Leben begegnen können.
Ganz ehrlich, da wäre ich für ein Geschwindigkeitslimit!
Kommt ein Japaner oder Ami mit einem nicht-deutschen Führerschein zu einer Fahrzeugvermietung um sich einen fetten Porsche, Audi, BMW oder Daimler zu mieten um endlich mal ohne Speedlimit über die Autobahn zu rasen - da muss eine elektronische Abriegelung her! ^^
Für ungeübte Fahrer ist ein Auto einfach nur eine Waffe, und in diesem Fall zielt die Waffe auf andere Verkehrsteilnehmer die mit Kindern auf der Rückbank fahren!
Oder würde man mir als Deutscher, der bislang noch niemals eine Schusswaffe in der Hand hatte, solch eine geladene und entsicherte Waffe in die Hand drücken, mich in den USA durch die Stadt laufen lassen, nur weil ich 500$ dafür bezahlt habe, um mir das Vergnügen oder Gefühl mal zu gönnen?!? 😀
Ich hoffe doch nicht!
If you have an accident on the autobarn you have to explain to the police why it happened as you were going so fast. Basically its fine to go what ever speed in those sections with out a speed limit but but get involved in an accident and you will get into trouble for it.
Germans get taught advanced driving and how to drive manual too. They tend to be better drivers and know how to handle a vehicle and speed.
And they are very disciplined.
@@vinniamsterdam700 yes and we are efficient and dont have humor !!!!
@@reeno1357 and yet you just made me laugh.
You are just describing any developed countries road rules...
"If you have an accident you have to explain it."
Umm... Obviously.
*rolls the car and lands upside down in the centre barrier.
Cops "please sir, tell me what happened
Me" what?
Cop "oh yeh, no need to explain anything. Have a good day. Bye
Literally no one and nowhere
Please move on: "Es gibt hier nichts zu sehen!" (Nothing to see here!) This is a German police action, so please move on!!!
Germans are NOT better, more rational or disciplined than anyone other. No one has to "tell" what happened or is questioned what BS he or she has done (In fact, please take my advice NOT to say anything, if asked by the police!!!! ... hehehe). Our forensic possibilities in Germany are as high as anywhere else in the world. And maybe Danger Mouse is from North Korea, I don't know, but here you have to bring up EVIDENCE to convict someone of something. Germans get not taught something advanced. If you look at the data, Indians, Americans, Italians, etc. are all the same. Modern engineering, car safety technology and modern street planing have reduced the deaths in traffic. Not "reason" ... Why this is not the case you can see here ... as an example. The statements of Danger Mouse just make no sense ... when you look at the actual data = REALITY! (Besides a video of morons riding a train with mattresses and killing themselves .... which is just a stereotype and NOT the boring everyday life:P)
I wish you all relaxing and accident-free holidays!:)
I think one of the reasons why germany has way lower driving deaths is because the drivers license is way harder to get in germany
I think the german mentality like " stick to the rules, do it the propper way" does a lot of work in those statistics.
I’ve been on the Autobahn a couple times now, last time was in an M3 so pretty fun but the first time we went there it was with a 100hp diesel Peugeot 208 with 4 people inside, pedal flat to the floor at all time 184km/h top speed, we spend most of the unlimited part on the right lane and the only thing we overtook were basically trucks 😂
we have no M3. A 3???
@@hartmutwrith3134 M3 as in BMW M3 not the name of the road
in general, there is no speed limit on the autobahn (as of now), but there are a lot of sections with a speed limit (usually 120 or 130 kph, sometimes 100). this is usually due to regular high traffic or hazards like unusually sharp turns or steep grades, sometimes its for no apperant reason at all, which usually means that that section has an unusually high accident statistic. they can only really leave a section unrestricted, if you truly can go 400 kph safely, meaning no sharp turns, no hills that hinder visibility, no steep grades that drastically increase braking distance, no points of major congestion and so on. all this is pretty difficult to achieve if youre building an autobahn in mountainous or densely populated regions for example. from my own experience i would say that probably close to half of the entire autobahn system is restricted for this reason.
Having worked for both Philips and Siemens, I have spent considerable time in Germany and Holland. The Autobahn is exciting and quite safe if you drive to the capability of your car and self and the weather is suitable.. I never had a performance car to drive, usually a sub compact rental, and I would just stay in the right hand lane at around 110kph (@67mph) and let the speed demons go for it. It can be terrifying in the rain however. I was once caught on the autobahn in a fierce downpour and could not see more than 10 feet past the front of the car. I slowed up, but the traffic going by in the other lanes did not slow at all, and I knew they could see no better than me. I was shit scared I was going to be rear ended at speed and was so relieved to see an Ausgang (exit) sign and get off until the rain subsided. By the way, the Northern Territory has open limits in the rural areas.
My buddy says he was driving on the autobahn in a little crapbox at 85 mph in the early Nineties. It was nearly floored when Cops in a 911 Turbo pulled next to him and emphatically pointed to the right lane! They then seamlessly merged into the left lane and blasted out of sight.
That's a cool story from your buddy...,can happen when the freeway is clear (the right lane) and you're driving in the middle lane or left lane), "only" 85mil/h.
Autobahn police cars have always installed the most powerful engines in these models.
Greetings from Germany.
Yeah that's bs, at least over exaggerated. Police have never driven turbos. In that case it was either a basic 993 or a civilian in a turbo.
@@rschburg You can buy a Diecast of a Police Turbo Car. They also had naturally aspirated 911's starting with a 2.4 liter in the Seventies. A tuned C7 ZO6 was also used by the German police.
On the Autobahn, because of all of the high performance cars, there is at least the recommendation that if you're moving into the central or left lane, that you should check your mirrors twice just in case a supercar is on it's way past.
Yes
there is a general speedlimit.
the ruling is: you are only allowed to drive as fast as it is save.
this means if there is a crash , one or both of the partys where to fast else it would have been avoided.
rain fog darkness etc all that makes driving verry fast unsave and therefor the driver is responsible to reduce speed untill its save.
30 miles per houre can be too fast and makes you liable for a accident if , for example, fog restricted viewdistance to 15 feet.
I got the chance to go all out on the Autobahn earlier this year on a long stretch of no limits during a calm time of day and I gotta say, just flooring it and finding the actual speed limit of my daily driver was very interesting.
Also you could tell the engine was straining the moment I got off, I'd never heard it whine like that before or since xD
One day I hope to go back with a car built for speed and compare the experience.
A few reasons why this is possible in Germany:
-Very good roads adapted to the high speed.
- Months of driver's license training with professional instructors, several hours of theory and practice (including high-speed motorway driving) a week with a rigorous exam.
- Disciplined, attentive and considerate driving (a few idiots like mostly in the video are everywhere and will be severely punished)
-Carefully follow a few rules (always drive on the far right, only use the left lane to overtake and look very carefully in the mirror beforehand, keep your distance, adapt your speed to traffic and the weather,....)
-legally prescribed thorough examination of the car with driving bans even for slight defects.
- Strictly obey traffic signs.
Then safe driving at over 200 km/h is also possible.
Many studies have shown that speed limits would probably not reduce the number of accidents (which is already one of the lowest in the world), as this would create other dangers (lack of concentration driving due to monotony, more right-hand overtakers, inattention to dangerous situations...)
If everyone in their country obeyed the rules strictly, there would be 0% accidents with or without a speed limit.
Driving on the Autobahn in Germany is safe, whoever claims otherwise has never driven to other countries (of course with exceptions).
... and please Autobahn tourists!
...FOLLOW THE RULES!
... get a good briefing beforehand!
...and sit first in the passenger seat of someone with experience!
...and don't immediately rent the fastest sports car!
YOU BREAK ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL AND WELL-KEPT GUARD BARRIER AND BRIDGE PILLARS !!!
Around where I live all parts of the autobahn is restricted to 120kph.
And the first autobahn, the diplomatic speedway, actually had had a limit. It was just lifted by the Nazis later on.
The biggest issue with the insane speeds is the difference between the fast and the slow ones. Especially when taking over, a car doing 100kph more than you approaching you from behind is almost impossible to see. Therefore the idea is to restrict the speed to something about 200kph.
If you want to go faster, there are plenty of racing tracks open to the public.
The worry with introducing a speed limit is that it will not be around 200kph. The nay-sayers will push for at most 130kph and ensure this discussion is an all or noting situation. I see the 300+ super cars are a problem, doing 200 or 220 in a capable car should not be. Maybe I'm to pessimistic, but I don't see reasonable legislation be a likely outcome. It is always the far ends of the spectrum who dominate the discourse.
And also the name "diplomatic speedway" was established after WWII when Bonn became the capital of Western Germany.
If I'm driving in Germany I mostly do it with an RV. I will drive about 90-100km/h with a physical limit of 130km/h (flat road, some time to get up to that). If I'm to overtake someone (e.g. truck), it is really difficult to estimate how fast drivers behind you are going. Therfore I don't like the driving there. It's better and more comfortable in nearly every country surrounding Germany.
the most important rule off driving on the Autobahn is that there is always somebody driving faster than you, so try to join the most right lane asap.
I am German and I've heard plenty of debates about the speed limit on the Autobahn
I love driving fast, but I had to realise that "but it's fun" is the only real argument you have against the speedlimit and its basically about emotions vs facts
less traffic jams, more safety (eventhough driving in Germany is already safe, why not make it safer?), its less loud and most importantly its better for the environment
sadly a lot of people in other countries dgaf about the last argument and even if we get 100% clean we are only ~2% of worlds population. i fully understand that someone has to step into the right direction, but when i see literal rivers on fire in india because of how contaminated they are with highly toxic chemicals, it makes me question my sanity.
@@M4xXxIkInG thats true, it barely makes a difference, even in Germany its only a small difference, but we do have the money to do something for the enviroment, more so than India for example
it also doesnt harm anyone
It is not only fun, it is relaxing. Just driving and adapting your speed to the physical conditions of the road, traffic, the car and yourself feels natural. No worrying about breaking some rule or getting fines. Also on long distances saving an hour or more of travel time is worth it for some.
The fuel savings are marginal, not that many people drive crazy speeds. Unless you want a crawling 100kph speed limit. And within 10-20 years most cars will be electric, so pollution is not a factor. We have to get on renewables or modern nuclear anyway, so speed limits don't matter there.
General Speed Limit: Losing attention to traffic, at "slow" speed, people do other things and get distracted.
serious accidents will still happen.
Driving at high speed your brain is at high performance to process information to avoid any possible critical Situation. You train your head while driving fast.
@@sichtbarfurallenutzeraufyo6984 true, but it sounds like you are saying that 120kmh isnt fast
We were in Germany in 2013 and the Autobahn was great to drive on and I would often cruise at 180kms, but being overtaken by much faster cars, which required me to move to the right. However, at times, cars on the right would pull out to overtake without accelerating, which had me standing on the brakes. So then, this is what I quickly learnt. Far right was for semi-trailers, caravans and the likes with a max speed of 80kms. In some places, the semi-trailers were not allowed to overtake. the middle lane was generally used for slower cruising, up to about 130kms. The far left lane was for the faster cars and it was expected that you would move to the right (if you could) to allow them to continue unimpeded if you were slower than them. Also, German drivers all seemed very capable. We were in the USA in 2018 and in many places we could cruise at 75mph upwards as the speed limit wasn't enforced, although I believe that changed from state to state.
I live in Australia, despite being such a large country, our speed limit is very slow, sadly, for this causes fatigue and fatigue related accidents. Our legal max is 110, apart from the Northern Territory and if you exceed 140kms and get caught, it is an immediate suspension from driving for six months. They really do need to push that up to 130kms or allow a greater tolerance or get rid of the speed cameras to allow people to drive without the worry of exceeding the limit. Where there are speed cameras people slow down too much. There are also point to point cameras so the traffic tends to travel below the speed limit, this causes unnecessary congestion and the frustration and accidents that go with it. Even with 5 or 6 lanes in the US, the traffic travelled much much better, for it was not over policed.
you understand the autobahn 100% correctly also the people that had you standing on your brakes probably didnt look in their mirrors, very important and very dangerous if not done you know why
source me live here 14 years driving experience thats not that long but hey atleast its a decade :D
about 65% are restricted, but that means 35% are not. you can drive there as fast as you want as long as you are driving safe and as long as you don’t endanger anyone.
Things to note:
1. A lot of clips in this video were not recorded in Germany.
2. Some of the clips (for example the super cars taking over on the right lane) show illegal driving. You are supposed to overtake on the left lane and keep a safety distance between you and the car in front of you.
3. From my experience about 50-60% of the Autobahn has restricted speed limits (mostly 120 kmh) also due to the extreme amounts of construction and maintenance work being done on the street.
4. Maintenance of the street is way better than in other countries. You wanna go 300+ kmh? The street needs to provide for that, so no bumps and no holes. The amount of maintenance going into that is insane.
5. German training to get your drivers license is way more in depth than in the US. You need approx. 2-3 weeks full of studying and driving lessons (with a theoretical and practical exam in the end) to obtain it.
6. Every 2nd year your car has to undergo an in depth inspection by the so called "TÜV" (checking for road worthiness), if your car isn't within strict regulations you either repair it or lose your allowance to drive it on public roads.
7. Tendency in Germany to get a new car (great deals from the big car companies or even some government sided bonus) is higher than normal I would say. Meaning more new cars on the streets = safer.
Germany is no exception with having idiots behind the wheel, that harass you and drive irresponsible. But the majority tries to make the Autobahn a safe and quick way to get from A to B.
Got to remember speeds also depend on the maintenance of roads. Here in Australia there are still people who believe speeds can be lifted and allow people to go faster. They are obviously laughed at as they don't understand at all how the Autobahn works.
It is built and designed for speed in how they are built and designed. Concrete, stone, rock, gravel, sand and then asphalt all in certain thicknesses to give the road more strength and stop sinking and corragations. And every night they are made sure they are thoroughly cleaned of all debris, dirt, oil etc.
There are no roads in Australia built that way except for those near the docklands. Those roads were designed for the heavy trucks and machinery and the massive weights they carry.
All major roads are not suited for high speed, especially the major highways. There are ruts in those roads 30 centimeters deep that can't be seen unless you walk them by foot. And they are littered with debrie like nails, stones, dirt and oil.
I did 215 km/h with my SAAB back in 2005 or so, it’s the fastest I went in a car, I did it in Germany and still was more on the middle and right lane then on the left.
Yeah some clips are definitely not from Germany.
Also it has been proven that a general speed limit would have very little effect,, neither in emissions nor in safety. Alexander Bloch from auto, motor & sport explained it in great detail in one of his videos.
Don't forget, getting a driving license here is significantly more expensive and requires a lot of mandatory lessons, including on the Autobahn. And many people drive cars that are designed to be driven at relatively high speeds.
Pick your spots to go fast guys, it’s not all open, 130kph often enforced. Varied limits not well signposted either.
a lot of the scenes shown are either not filmed in germany or are highly illegal. yes you can go as fast as you want, but if youre gonna go 200+ kph, you stay in the left lane period. anything else would be close to a death wish and would definitely lose you your license for a long time. on the flipside, staying in the left or middle lane going slow for no reason is very frowned upon among germans and is also illegal.
Actually it is not only the Autobahn without speedlimit. If you are driving outside a town and have 2 lanes in each direction (or 1 lane with a proper middle seperation) it is also not restricted generally. But there we have Speedlimit signs in over 95% of time. So these unlimited parts are very rare.
It's just in sections and is weather dependent. The whole autobahn is under construction and it's a nightmare at the moment. The A38 is your best bet, but there are always trucks over taking trucks doing 90kmh and you have 1 lane and anything over 250kmph (150mph) can get a little hairy in any kind of weather. Saying that, it's fun to try and beat your own time if you have a regular run. Also, a lot of drivers (audi drivers in particular) are often driving past their capability. During the daytime though, there is no chance for a long fast run on any other autobahn other than the A38 east bound.
what you need to understand about driving in the US vs germany is that obtaining a drivers license in germany is waaay harder than in the us. i can confidently say that, because i did both. some people take like a year and fail the exams multiple times before getting it. some people never make it at all. the driving schools are also a different breed. in virginia it wasnt even required for me it just lowered the insurance premium and it was like 8 hours just driving to pick up the next student. sure youre supposed to learn from your parents, but if they have bad driving habits already, theyll pass that right on to you. in germany youre doing a minimum of 40 hours and they actually teach you not just what the laws are, but how to actually drive safely. and yes, they also teach you stick. also i found that the attitude from americans towards their cars is really different. its usually seen as an expendable thats there to be used, while germans really view their cars as a representation of themselves, meaning they seem to be way more careful with their own or other peoples cars. also there are a lot of traffic laws in the us that are just unsafe, e.g. that you can pass on the right as you please.
True but one thing though. You will get pulled over if you drive dangerously (like the guy switching lanes during heavy traffic). There may be no speed limit but all other rules still apply.
Hi Ian, i'm from germany and spend a lot of my time on the autobahn, transfering business cars.
I often drive the same route from munich to Berlin, Frankfurt or Hamburg.
Can tell you it's realistic to make the distance from Munich to Berlin (around 370 mls) in a potent car like a 400 hp BMW on a sunny day with fluent, non vacation traffic jam and some 5 to 10 mile construction road parts and considering all speed limits, you can do it in around 4:15 hours. By night it's possible in 3:30 hours if you go flat out where it's possible and allowed 😊
Not all the Autobahn is unrestricted speed . Only in certain sections, so if you ever go there just remember.
what usually is missed on the speed limit is: the rule in Germany states something like: "... any overland road (i.e. not within city bounds) with at least two lanes in each direction and a physical separation of opposite traffic has no speed limit by default." So this does not need to be an Autobahn, but by construction default an Autobahn shall fall into this category. So the typically assumed 100 km/h for standard overland roads is not true the moment the aforementioned construction characteristics are present. That's why, if those are present, you'll see a speed-limit sign immediately.
The fastest car is a Bugatti Chiron at 417km/h on the A2 from Berlin towards Hanover in July 2021.
8:00 every time you see a yellow line it's not germany, gemany only uses yellow when lanes change because of a repair. My record in a renault Twingo is 129mph and 155 in a BMW 3 series. Most cars are limited by the factory to 155mph and you have to pay a little bit to get the unrestricted version for some 10-20mph more.
As for the reason why such speeds are possible. The whole autobahn system is designed for it. It involves everything from how the road surface itself is constructed to the maximum curvature of the road, minimum lane width, how intersections are designed and a whole lot of additional design parameters and requirements. Including the divider between the two directions. You‘ll never see an unprotected median between the two directions of traffic like you get on a lot of US highways. The median is always lined with guard rails that prevent cars from crossing into oncoming traffic.
There‘s also a required service lane where it is safe to stop if a vehicle breaks down or if someone has an emergency and where emergency vehicles can safely pass when an accident has occurred.
Another important aspect is that the Autobahn has a minimum speed requirement of 60 km/h. If you drive a vehicle that can’t drive 60 km/h are more you are not allowed to use German motorways. There’s also a recommended or target speed requirement of 130 km/h which means that any driver should - if traffic conditions and vehicle permit - drive at a speed of 130 km/h. Which is what the video mentions.
There’s two reasons for the minimum and target speed mandates.
1. It ensures that the flow of traffic has a certain average minimum speed and that slow traffic doesn’t led to congestion (most German autobahn sections are congested with severe traffic due to the fact that Germany is in the center of Europe and experiences a lot of Intranet European transit traffic)
2. Autobahn is designed for a traffic flow optimum at 130 km/h i.e. the throughput or amount of vehicles per hour is maximized if the average speed is 130 km/h
3:50 high speed yes, but overtaking on the right is not allowed - and you need a distance to the front car 1/2 speed in meters e.g. 300 km/h (186 mph) - min. 150 m distance
it is only possible because there are also very strict rules
Another reason traffic deaths is so much higher in usa is because here in europe we have something called common sense.
In america they go like, "hey the speedlimit is 100mph then it must be safe to go this fast, I don't care if it's thick fog and ice on the road when the law says it's safe". In eurpoe nobody would drive like a maniac in conditions like that even if they legally could.
Adapting to traffic Speeds and Conditions, Quick Reaction Time and Driving Skill saves lives.
Overtaking on the right is not legal. If those guys get caught they loose their licence for some time.
5:04 one of the reasons why driving a car in germany is so safe is because we aren't allowed to overtake on the right side. There is a "rechtsfahrgebot" wich makes it mandatory to drive on the lane as far right as possible
This is in most of countries in the world
The A555 wasn't build by the Hitler Regime. It was build in 1928 by order of Konrad Adenauer and was finished in 1932.
Speed doesn't kill.
It's coming to a sudden stop that does.
First rule to learn [for tourists]: Overtaking other cars on the right is strictly forbidden! The Lamborghini scene shown in the video would cost the driver 250,- Euro fine (due to endangering others), 2 points + he'll lose his drivers licence for 1 month (or longer if he already collected points from previous violations)
Only some sections are open speed. Quite a total distance is open speed but most is now restricted, and even open sections are impacted by maintenance and other temporary limits.
As far as 200+kph is not unusual. Have driven over 210kph in VW Golf GTI and near 240kph in a sports car no longer sure if Alpha or Fiat. As passenger in a Mercedes we travelled at 265kph..
Experienced problem of speed while doing close to 180kph on curving downhill saw an overturned small van and banking traffic ahead. With activating hazard flasher standard practice to warn drivers behind that barking is for massive slowing not just light touch then braking firmly just short of lock up but light squeeling tyres, I stopped with only minimal distance of a few car lengths. Two cars from behind however ignoring hazard lights and brakes on zipped to fast lane and roared past me. Then discovering the scene ahead were left in very hard braking locking wheels , pre ABS days, with massive smoke and 4 black lines of tyre rubber. Both stopped with only 1/2 to 1 car length from crashing into already stopped cars. At those speeds the stopping distance even though actually not so long, was barely enough for reaction and braking with the limited sighting range coming downhill around a sweeping bend. Hate to imagine scene at well over 200kph at that location.
Another scary incident was trying to drive slow due to fog obscuring cars mere few car length ahead. But at 80kph had numerous cars appear behind braking hard. Ended up like other traffic coping at 120kph. Had I had similar fog at home in Australia I doubt I would have wanted much over 60kph. A saving grace is there the cars have very bright single rear RED lamp for such foggy conditions, visible a little, maybe two car lengths earlier than normal tail lights.
It was however impressive to travel 600km at close to constant 140 to 250 kph, with several short restricted 80kph zones for repairs or maintenance. So in 4 hrs did that 600km distance, then with heavy traffic another 180 km in another 2 hrs to around 90 kph average much at 60kph with short faster bits. Yet overall few places in the world could you travel 780 km 488 miles, in 6 hrs by car. That including one petrol stop, with refreshment and restroom visit.
It's not speed that kills people, suddenly becoming stationary is what gets you.
True words from an iconic man 😊
I like how all the footage of car accidents etc. are not taken from the german Autobahn. :D
No changes please. I am a Dutchman living in Germany. A speed limit of 100 km/h like in Holland is like a sleep limit, especially if you drive on cruise control. On the Autobahn you can get from a to b quickly if you want to but you always have to stay extra alert! Maybe that explains part of the difference in accidents between the USA and Germany.
I have lived in Germany for a few years during my study. From what i have experienced .. the Autobahn is one of the safer places to drive because people are usually focussed and flow fairly easily .. with what the video said .. around 130-180 kph.
The things they showed in the video seemed very atypical for an Autobahn. Supercars overtaking on the right .. i have actually never seen anyone overtake on the right on the Autobahn in several years i have been there. Or supercars switching lanes like idiots .. also never seen.
I would not say that this cannot be the Autobahn, because you get morons everywhere .. and there certainly ARE .. speed-tourists (or whatever you want to call people who only go there to speed .. while having little to no real fast-driving experience) .. but i do not think it is the norm.
German drivers in general seem disciplined .. not so much on rural roads or in cities, where there is a lot more "getting into other drivers personal space" (or maybe it was just my friend then who generally ranted about others in traffic ... in a closed car where the only one hearing his rants was me .. - so totally pointless)
I have not driven in Germany myself despite having a license. I got my license when i was 18 ... and own a Twizzy, which is classified a motorized vehicle (similar class to a electric scooter for a disabled person .. it only goes up to 50 kph .. on a good day .. with back wind) - so i would not want to drive a "real" car in Germany anyway.
But when it comes to speed .. its odd. You might think .. 200 kph is a lot, but when you are with a good driver .. in a good car .. its silent, its smooth - and it does not feel too fast at all.
I love driving on the Autobahn, and I really appreciate that we don't have speed limits on straight and clearly visible sections. It's extremely relaxing to cruise 130 km/h (80 mph) recommended speed and if someone wants to overtake quickly or just want to push the pedal for a a few minutes of fun, then you can go faster if weather conditions and traffic allows it.
Unfortunately, there are a few scenes in the video that show extremely reckless jerks and this is neither legal or the usual traffic on the autobahn.
You can pay a fee and enjoy speeding on a race track. The last thing Germany needs is thrill seekers from other countries. That is one of the reasons why many people are in favor of speed limits.
I think one of the main reasons why there are so few road deaths in Germany is not that there is no speed limit, but that we have a better training system for driver's license.
I think they should keep the no limit thing. As the video itself already said, average speed is around 140kmh so the vast majority of drivers are driving responsibly. Those drivers that were shown in the video weaving through traffic with their lambos, would probably drive the same way if there was a speed limit. I see that in my country a lot, we have 130kmh speed limit but some people will still drive 200+
If you drive responsibly on the autobahn (not weaving through traffic, simply being on the right lane and flooring it everytime you got clean road ahead of you) you are not really that fast. There are a lot of construction sites with 60 or 80 limit, regular 120 zones, a LOT of traffic and germans, for some reason, have a tendency to cut into your lane and make you slam the brakes. I measured my average speed on the autobahn over a trip at around 130kph and i went to about 180 everytime i got clean road (just a normal trip, not there to race). Then when i was back in my country i actually got an average of 135kph
The difference between the autobahn and all other roads in the world is, there are a lot less intersections (exits, gas stations,..) for slow moving cars and fast cars to mix. When there is 1 or when there are roadworks, there are very slow and strict limits. Other than that, it really is just, go as fast as you want on the LEFT LANE and not like those idiots swerving around the lanes. Highly dangerous, forbidden and stupid. Also people with plates from other countries can be really dangerous driving slow or cutting into middle or left lane. Watch out for those (mostly on border cities). German drivers respect the left lane and stick to right most lane.
People just cruise around 180kmh/120mph on 2 lane roads, on 3 or 4 lanes when the trucks are seperated really well, you can just floor it. And if it's not too busy, find out your car top speed.
On sundays, trucks are forbidden on it, just like most markets have to be closed (interesting laws). So on a sunday sunset moment on a long straight, you can enjoy your flight 😄😄😄
I'm sorry but that's just plain wrong. There are a ton of onramps and exits on the Autobahn, whereas e.g. on the Polish highway network there are only few of them around. Sometimes, onramps and exits on the German Autobahn are so close to each other that they share the same acceleration / exit lane
If you want to try it out, a few words of advice:
1. Not everywhere the speed is unlimited. Only 69% of the german Autobahn is unlimited.
2. If you don't have experience with the traffic situation in Germany, don't exceed 160 at first. You can't really tell how fast a car in the rear view mirror is going, so always think about the mistakes of others when they maybe don't see you coming.
3. If a german car on the right lane gets close to the car in front it will most definetely change lanes
4. If a german car is behind a truck and isn't there for a longer time it will most definetely change lanes
5. Always drive with a huge security distance. People will tell you about half of the speedometer, but if you try to make an emergency braking at 220kph you can't come to a full stop in 110 metres. It'll take you about 300 metres. If you want to check your distance, the delineators on the side of the road are exactly 50 metres apart. The stripes are 6 metres long, the distance between the stripes is 12 metres.
6. If you want to go fast: Get a driver who is responsible and has driven past 200kph before. Don't get into a car of some show-off and definetely don't get into a car of a german salesman. Most of them are a danger to society while they are in their cars. Ask them about the security distance at 200kph. If they say "half of the speedometer" or "halber Tachoabstand" or 100 metres... don't get into the car when they drive at those speeds
7. If the traffic gets thicker, slow down.
8. You are never... ever... ever allowed to overtake on the right side. If somebody crawls on the left lane, stay behind him, maybe flash your highbeams once with the proper security distance, but if he doesn't change lanes, accept it and get on the right lane. Those people are annoying but you'll meet them.
Don't want to spoil your experience but most foreigners are overwhelmed with the possibility of those speeds and create dangerous situations out of inexperience (germans also do it , but they do it on purpose, because they are stupid)
Here is how I see it as a citizen in Germany: yes there's traffic but only on times where people go to work/off work, mid day break, those are the traffic times.Or some cuz of accidents..
There are speed limits, so yes it's sections of no speed limits but long enough I would say. There are also country side roads with no speed limit, but those are a little more dangerous, like don't exaggerate with the speed ya know
In terms of the fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2020: Australia's rate of 4.26 was ranked 20th out of the 36 nations. The nations with the three lowest rates were Norway (1.73), Sweden (1.98) and Iceland (2.20). Between 2011 and 2020 Australia's fatality rate declined by 25.4 per cent.
For me, 160 km/h (100 mph) is a comfortable cruising speed on the autobahn. A little faster on short journeys.
I also prefer to concentrate on the traffic than having to keep an eye on the speedometer.
It is an urban legend, some minor parts have no limit. More and more sections are limited to 120kph. Yesterday 600km drive and 100km of that restricted even to 80kph because of road work everywhere. However saw just 3 people working on all of the 20 sections restricted for renovations. Sure for a short moment I was capable to drive faster then 200kph, but for dealing with distances you will be faster on french or polish highways.
Hallo, German here. Every Clip of overtaking on the right Side of a "lower speed car" is illegal. The Main Rule of a German Autobahn is, if you can get your Way on your actual Speed on the right Side for more than 15 Secounds without overtaking right, you have to drive on the right Side. Overtaking on the right Side of a car is highly illegal. So just the Moment of Overtaking is the part you have to look to your left Mirror and the Backmirror, if someone can be in your Way. Driving more than 220 km/h is rare to actually go by common sense. Driving more than 220 km/h is mostly possible by Night or in the early Mornings. Common Sense make the Saftiness, dont look on your Smartphone and dont get distracted by your Passengers. Just stay calm and focus on the Road
I have to add, that only around 1/3 or so of the Autobahn is without speed limit. The other areas, where for example there are drive-on or drive-offs or in tunnels or over bridges, there are always speed limitations, mostly 100 km/h. When there is no limitation, you are nevertheless encouraged to not exceed 130 km/h. But if you do so, you will not get punished as long as you don't harm others or drive like a real risk for others (now one could argue, that driving that fast does always pose a risk for yourself and others, but that's another story...)
I got a love/hate relationship with the autobahn. I love it cuz it makes the drive to the nurburgring very fast (driving from north of the netherlands) but i hate it cuz the engine of my car blew up at 270kph (165mph)
If you have the money and need to buy a car that's actually designed to handle these speeds (which includes stopping, most normal car brakes can't handle these insane high speed stops) and you can afford the fuel for it, go to a track. People commuting to work and your idea of a fun drive on the same road do not mix, no matter how "careful" you are.
In Germany we have no or hardly any speed limits, but we have a lot of different rules, for example we are only allowed to overtake on the left and must, if possible, always drive on the right
"Speed doesn't kill people, it's suddenly becoming stationary that gets you" - Jeremy Clarkson.
I was there in April, and I liked flying there, from Berlin to Hamburg, without restrictions, in the dark, and when I went down from Wolfsburg to Ingolstadt, there were many repairs on the road.
UPD ______________
But you have to be very careful, and calculate the situation on the road 5 steps ahead, too high speeds, and overtaking on the right is not desirable
the nice thing about it is that germany is in the middle of europe so whenever you go from west to east or vice versa you get this autobahn speed bonus through a good chunk of the way
one of the reasons in germany tehnical inspection is very strict, and you cant mount whatever you like on the car, while in the USA you can mount f16 wing on the car and still drive it...
in germany most Accidents on highways happen in slower swetions, like roadworks or at the end of traffic jams and mostly contains trucks which had a speed limit of 80km/h
Autobahn is germany's 2nd amendment.... greetings from Austria
Germany has 13192 km of "Bundesautobahn" (BAB). More than half of the length has no speed limit (for passenger cars) but a recommended speed of 130 km/h. Buses/coaches or cars with camping trailers are restricted to 100 km/h (if certain conditions are met), anything else above 3.5 t or with trailer 80 km/h.
One third of the length has a fixed speed limit, the rest a conditional speed limit (depending on the time of day/night or the weather).
Since the BAB are in federal administration, the speed limits are set by the federal government. Bremen (a rather small city state) happens to have no unlimited stretches of highway, the highest permitted speed there is 120 km/h.
And of course there can be temporary speed limits for a variety of reasons (usually road works or maintenance).
Note that Germany has rather strict requirements for obtaining a driving licence, and also requires regular safety checks of road vehicles, which might contribute to the relatively lower numbers of accidents.