Speed limits on the German Autobahn: myth or reality?

It’s something we’ve all heard more than once. On the German Autobahn you can drive without a speed limit and press the accelerator pedal as much as you like. But is this true, or is it one of those myths that proliferate and are not 100% real? Well, although we know many would prefer the first option, it is really the second.

The Autobahn is Germany’s road network, just as the National Road Network is in Spain, and it is made up of all the roads that comprise it. And yes, indeed, there are a large number of sections where there is no speed limit, but even on those stretches we must not forget that there is a set of regulations that must be followed scrupulously.

There are at least 6,500 kilometres where you can travel without speed limits, usually on stretches away from towns and under special conditions. These sections are signposted both at the beginning and at the end, so it is easy to know whether you are entering one of them. And despite this, these stretches without a speed limit are subject to regulations that bind all drivers who use them.

The fact that there is no speed limit on these stretches of Autobahn does not mean it is always so. In heavy traffic conditions or heavy rain there are speed restrictions very similar to Spain’s. In these cases, which are duly indicated, the maximum speed on these stretches can range between 80 and 130 km/h.

In addition, usual rules apply to this type of road, such as not allowing vehicles that cannot exceed a minimum speed of 60 km/h, bicycles and other vehicles that cannot reach that minimum speed. Nor may you drive in the left or middle lane or overtake on the right, nor stop on the hard shoulders unless it is due to a breakdown or emergency.

Currently, these stretches free of speed limits are in doubt. The reason? To regulate not speed anymore, but the level of emissions. The higher the speed, the higher the emissions, so this is something that is worrying the German government, which has to deal with its environmental commitments. Will the end of these popular stretches without speed limits come? Possibly, but for now the stretches will remain regulated as before, without forcing drivers to limit themselves to the 120 km/h we know in Spain. Although, in the near future, things may change quite a lot.