Road network

Germany's Autobahn network covers over 13,000 kilometers, and around 70 percent of it carries no statutory speed limit for passenger cars. The official recommended speed is 130 km/h, but on unrestricted sections traffic in the left lane regularly travels well above 200 km/h. Speed limits elsewhere are 50 km/h in urban areas and 100 km/h on rural roads. There are no tolls for passenger vehicles on any road in Germany. Most city centers operate environmental zones requiring a green emissions sticker, the Umweltplakette, which foreign-registered vehicles must also display. Winter tires are required in winter conditions, meaning snow, ice, or slush, with no fixed calendar dates attached to the rule. The blood alcohol limit is 0.05 percent. The minimum driving age is 18. Headlights are required at night. The emergency number is 112.

All borders with Germany's nine neighbors are open under Schengen, and crossings are generally seamless. Road quality is consistently high across the country, including in the former East German states. Notable drives include the Deutsche Alpenstrasse across Bavaria, the Rhine Gorge between Koblenz and Bingen, the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse through the Black Forest, and the sandstone roads of Saxon Switzerland near Dresden. Fuel stations are plentiful, though motorway stations charge more than those just off the network. The absence of a speed limit on much of the Autobahn remains one of the most distinctive features of driving in Germany.