ExpresswayGermany
3. Expressway
An expressway is a road intended to carry through traffic efficiently, usually at higher speeds than ordinary roads. Expressways often have limited access, multiple lanes, separated carriageways or grade-separated junctions, but their design and legal status vary between countries.
An expressway is not always a motorway. It may have intersections, traffic lights or direct access, and the permitted road users, speed limits and special rules depend on local signs and regulations.
Wikimedia.org • KlausFoehl • CC BY-SA
How do people refer to an expressway in Germany?
The German term is Kraftfahrstraße, meaning road for motor vehicles. It is identified by a blue sign with a car symbol and is a separate designation from a motorway.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(3)(2)(c),18(1),(9); Annex 3, signs 331.1–331.2
Start of an expressway.
English • Traffic sign 331.1 • Road for motor vehicles.
Deutsch • Verkehrszeichen 331.1 • Kraftfahrstraße.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Verwaltungsvorschriften-im-internet.de • VzKat, Anhang (Gesamtübersicht)
Image via Commons.wikimedia.org
vectorized by • Public domain • Source revision 2017-08-30. Wikimedia original unmodified.
End of the expressway.
English • Traffic sign 331.2 • End of road for motor vehicles.
Deutsch • Verkehrszeichen 331.2 • Ende der Kraftfahrstraße.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Verwaltungsvorschriften-im-internet.de • VzKat, Anhang (Gesamtübersicht)
Image via Commons.wikimedia.org
vectorized by • Public domain • Source revision 2017-08-30. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Must a German expressway have separate carriageways?
No. A road for motor vehicles can have a single carriageway. Do not assume that the designation guarantees a central divider, motorway-style junctions or an unrestricted car speed.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(3)(2)(c),18(1),(9); Annex 3, signs 331.1–331.2
What speed limit applies to cars on an expressway in Germany?
There is no single maximum created by the road-for-motor-vehicles sign. On an ordinary single-carriageway road outside built-up areas, the car maximum is normally 100 km/h. Qualifying divided or multi-lane roads have different provisions; obey posted limits.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(3)(2)(c),18(1),(9); Annex 3, signs 331.1–331.2
Who may use an expressway in Germany?
Motor vehicles and their trailers must have a design maximum speed of more than 60 km/h. Cyclists cannot use the road. Pedestrians may cross a Kraftfahrstraße only at junctions or other places provided for crossing; they must not otherwise enter it. The design-speed condition is not a duty to maintain that speed in congestion.
🔗 gesetze-im-internet.de • Germany StVO: §§3(3)(2)(c),18(1),(9); Annex 3, signs 331.1–331.2

Traffic rules
Germany