(Click on the image for the report)
1. Know the limitWe hate to break the cold, hard truth, but contrary to popular belief, there really are–believe it or not–speed limits on the Autobahn. Even though many places allow drivers to pick whatever speed they feel comfortable at, many stretches of blacktop may require you to slow your roll. Construction sites and motorway junctions are classic examples of reduced speed areas. And most of them are swarming with traffic police who unflinchingly hand out tickets, even to aggravated tourists who insist “There are no speed limits on the Autobahn and everybody knows that!” Knowing the limit also implies a realistic assessment of your own driving abilities. Just because your rental car packs enough horse power to go close to 300 km/h (that’s almost 200 mph, folks) does not mean you can control this kind of speed. Especially if the speed limit back home is around 120 km/h [75 mph].
10. Do as the Romans do
Generally speaking, newcomers are best advised to stay with traffic and emulate what the locals are doing. If suddenly everyone goes out of their way to follow the speed limit – even those wanna-be formula one pilots in the left lane – you can bet there’s a radar speed check just around the corner. Oh wait… too late! Say cheese. (FLASH!) [Click on the image for rules 2 through 9.]
From The New York Times: The number of deadly accidents on stretches of autobahn that have a speed limit are 26 percent lower than on those without.
In 2017, 409 people
died on the autobahn and in almost half the cases, the reason was inappropriate
speeding, according to the German statistics office.