GermanyGermany

Drive on the right and normally overtake on the left.

Call 112 for the fire and rescue services and 110 for the police.

The general blood-alcohol threshold is 0.5‰ (0.5 g/l). Drivers who are under 21 or still in their probationary driving period are subject to a zero-alcohol rule. Driving can also be punishable below 0.5‰ when alcohol affects the driver's ability to drive safely.

The general maximum speed is 50 km/h, unless signs indicate another limit. Lower limits such as 30 km/h are common in residential and other sensitive areas.

For passenger cars and other qualifying vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, the general maximum speed on ordinary roads outside built-up areas is 100 km/h, unless signs indicate another limit.

There is no general maximum speed for passenger cars on unrestricted Autobahn sections. A recommended speed of 130 km/h applies, and any posted speed limit must be followed.

Autobahns and roads for motor vehicles may generally only be used by motor vehicles whose design maximum speed is more than 60 km/h. The same requirement applies to a trailer being towed.

No. Ordinary passenger cars do not need a nationwide Autobahn vignette or pay a general Autobahn toll. Germany's federal road toll system primarily applies to qualifying goods vehicles with a technically permissible maximum mass above 3.5 tonnes.

There is no general requirement for cars to use headlights during normal daylight and good visibility. Dipped headlights must be used when visibility is seriously reduced by fog, snow or rain. Motorcycles must use dipped headlights or daytime running lights during the day.

Germany has a situational winter-tyre requirement. Suitable winter tyres must be fitted when driving in black ice, packed snow, slush, ice or frost. Qualifying winter tyres must carry the Alpine symbol.

Seat belts must be worn during a journey wherever they are required and fitted, subject to specific legal exceptions.

Children who are under 12 years old and shorter than 150 cm must generally use an appropriate approved child-restraint system.

Motorcycle and moped riders and passengers must wear a suitable protective helmet where the legal helmet requirement applies. There is no general legal helmet requirement for ordinary cyclists.

A driver may not pick up or hold a mobile phone or similar electronic device while driving. A device may be used without holding it when permitted functions such as voice control are used or only a brief glance appropriate to the traffic conditions is required.

At intersections and junctions where priority is not otherwise regulated, traffic approaching from the right has priority. This is known as rechts vor links. Traffic coming from a field or forest road is one of the exceptions.

Where the roundabout sign is combined with a give-way sign, traffic already circulating on the roundabout has priority. Drivers must not indicate when entering such a roundabout and should indicate when leaving it.

At a marked pedestrian crossing, drivers must allow pedestrians who clearly intend to use the crossing to cross. Drivers must approach at moderate speed and wait if necessary. Overtaking at the crossing is prohibited.

When overtaking cyclists, pedestrians or users of small electric vehicles, motorists must leave at least 1.5 metres in built-up areas and 2 metres outside built-up areas.

When traffic on an Autobahn or a road outside a built-up area with at least two lanes in the same direction slows to walking speed or stops, drivers must create a Rettungsgasse. The corridor is formed between the leftmost lane and the lane immediately to its right.

When a lane ends or cannot continue, drivers should use it up to shortly before the narrowing and then merge alternately using the zipper principle. Traffic in the continuing lane must allow one vehicle at a time to merge immediately before the restriction.

Red means stop. Amber means wait for the next signal and normally requires drivers to stop. Red and amber displayed together still mean stop but indicate that the signal will shortly turn green.

Where a fixed green arrow on a black sign is installed beside a red traffic light, drivers in the right lane may turn right after first stopping. They may proceed only when pedestrians, cyclists and other traffic can do so without being endangered or obstructed.

Passenger cars must generally carry a warning triangle, high-visibility safety vest and first-aid material that meets the applicable requirements.

Vehicles entering a designated Umweltzone generally need an environmental sticker valid for that zone. The requirement can also apply to foreign-registered vehicles, so drivers should check local restrictions before entering.

In a marked verkehrsberuhigter Bereich, drivers must travel at walking speed. Pedestrians may use the full width of the street, and parking is normally permitted only in marked spaces.

If visibility is reduced by fog, snowfall or rain to less than 50 metres, drivers may not exceed 50 km/h and must drive even slower when conditions require it.