German Tip: Never fuel on autobahns! Motorway prices are often 50cents above those in town per litre which can mean more than 20eur more per refill. It’s ridiculous and often avoidable with some planning. Fill up in town eg when getting to your hotel in the evening (when prices are lowest for the day), preferably E10 to stretch your cash
@@MSM4U2POM nope. The difference is often not nearly as big even for neighbouring countries especially around the border areas. Recently got reminded of this in Luxembourg and Austria - amazing prices on highway stops (for Germans)
@@Pkari I'll have to take your word for that, my friend. I do remember paying significantly more in France and in Germany, but since prices are always far higher at motorway fuel stops in the UK as well, I just assumed it was normal. All the best.
14:06 In Sweden where I'm from, this is banned here as well, and it's because cleaning your car in the driveway for example pollutes local lake waters. So therefore it's not allowed. 😀
Not that anyone would care unless you live next to the office of the legislators. I also think it might only apply if you live in a a vattenskyddsområde.
And cleaning your car in a car wash doesn't pollute? Does the water go somewhere else if it's in a car wash. I'm all for responsible practice, but some shit seems draconian and exaggerated.
@@allanmanley6340 This is not mandated by the government (country) but by municipality (local) in the Netherlands. So in some places it is fine and some it is not.
I also want to add that its mandatory to have a complete preferably sealed first aid kit in ur car. Such kits can be bought at most gas stations or hardware stores.
3:33 just a little correction... it’s actually 0.08 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland... in Scotland it is also 0.05 like Germany. So if you are English going up to Scotland bear in mind the lower limit too! And if you are Scottish going to the continent, the limit is the same as at home.
I have a little correction to make: You can turn right at a red light if there is a green arrow, after you stopped and made sure that no one wants to go in the same direction. Most people still roll slowly towards it and drive if there's no one. I would be interested in the number of foreigners involved in Autobahn accidents because I assume some people from other European countries come here to drive the highest speed possible.
That you. That's a good point about the autobahns. Having the freedom to drive at the speed you feel comfortable with instead of a fixed limit was nice, I enjoyed my time in Germany, the black forest is beautiful.
9:30 the regular "no overtaking" sign applies to all motor vehicles, regardless, of the number of wheels. There is one with a lorry on the left side. This one applies to vehicles above 3,5 tonnes.
you can overtake a motorbike in an no passing zone...because it got only 1 wheel per axle... not allowed if a Harley tows a trailer... they are a kind of car, the drivers are above 80yrs old!
hi Richard, i just want to say massive thanks, to your videos on learning to drive. it really helped with the areas i was struggling with. i picked up useful tips, on how to approach manoeuvres and how to correct yourself, if things start to go wrong. i started watching after i failed first time. i passed my test today and buzzing second time. so thank you for your videos. top legend, have a good easter richard
Nice vid, most useful. One addition - certainly in Bavaria you can't leave your car in idle either at the side of the road or in a car park, you must turn it off.
In Germany there are uniform traffic rules ('Straßenverkehrsordnung = StVO'), therefore it is forbidden everywhere to let the engine run unnecessarily, e.g. also at closed railway crossings.
Oh the timed speed limits... on the autobahn aroung Ingolstadt (a city between Munich and Nuremberg), there's one section that's 120/130 from around 21:00-06:00, and zone of the same speed from 06:00-21:00 - exactly the opposite! Also (and this took me a while to realise) there are often speed limits (often 70km/h) directly above a sign warning of traffic lights - the limit only applies until you've left the junction, at which point it no longer applies (usually back up to 100). Now I like driving fast, but usually am in a relatively small car, although you'd be surprised how stable a Ford Fiesta is at +160km/h (100 mph)! Tip for people wanting long nice open stretches of autobahn, the A94 from Munich towards Austria has some really nice stretches with no limit, and seems to be relatively lightly travelled (at least on a Sunday mid-late afternoon), which is even less common than stretches without limits!
Deaths per 100,000 people is not a good method of calculating road safety without taking into consideration how much the average person drives. A country with higher car usage would appear to have more dangerous roads even if the deaths per mile were the same.
My local state roads authority is a fan of the “Fatality rate per 100 Milion vehicle kilometres travelled” currently it’s at 0.38 for September 2023 (latest).
There is a UA-cam channel I watch called AutoTopNL, and they do autobahn tests for different high performance cars. They do those tests in a German autobahn that has no speed limit, although they live in the Netherlands.
Two things you mentioned in passing, but I didn't pick up on in time. 1) Low Emissions Zones - I realized late that I was booked at a hotel inside a low emissions zone, and I ordered a low emissions sticker before leaving, but it didn't arrive until I was already there. Luckily it's easy to get one in person at a TÜV station (like their MOT) by showing your V5, which you have anyway. 2) Parking after 3 minutes - the reviews for where I was staying included loads of people getting parking fines before they could get their hotel parking notice. I queried that and they explained German parking disks, so it's worth getting one of those ASAP from a petrol station on entering Germany and putting it on the dashboard whenever you park. But all-in-all your videos were very helpful and helped me be more comfortable driving across Europe. Thanks.
I loved your video! Very precise and indepth, just like Germans would like :) We have more similarities with Germany signs and rules wise than we do with the UK. For example, we also have a dimond sign, but it doesn't mean priority over vehicles on the right, it means priority road, meaning you have priority over other vehicles (right and left). I was confused and had to check, and trusting this German site, they have the same meaning for this sign as we do, and most other countries in Europe, to my knowledge anyway. It is improtant to note though, if the priority road turns right or left you will see the sign bellow, where a thick line shows a priority road. IF priority road turns right and you want to go ahead, that means you and the car on the right are in even conditions - you are both on the priority road. THIS is where give way to the right rule works, you would have to give way to them. It makes sense if you think about it, because you are effectively crossing a priority road the same way you would when you turn left, but it can catch people out, because people see the diamon and assume they have priority over everyone. Another point I'd like to make is the signs you see on traffic lights posts are backup signs. They work when the lights are off, or flash yellow. I am not German, but I am 99% confident it works the same way in Germany. Germans are free to correct me. The site: www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/driving-germany/road-signs#:~:text=road%20narrows%20ahead-,Priority%20road,-You%20have%20right
Hi Artem, I think you probably know more than me on this one. It was almost the same as the UK though. Essentially, if I was crossing someone's path, I had to give way.
About fussy speed change, this is exactly what I find annoying in the UK. You speed up your car from 30 to 50 and after quarter mile it again down to 30 again.
You are allowed to drive on summer tyres in winter and on winter tyres in the warmer months BUT when you have an accident that is mainly or partly caused or just made more serious because of the "wrong" kind of rubber at your car's feet, your insurance will not be very happy about that and deny full payment. Winter tyres are softer and are therefore more adequate for cold conditions. Summer tyres get too hard in winter and that means they lose grip on the road, no matter what their profile is. And when it is hot a soft winter tyre will not hold your car steady in curves because it will bend sideways.
5:39 the arrow + village name means, that village is coming up. the 50kph speed limit there seems like a temporary one (not permanently installed), probably due to some construction.
The end-of-village/town sign might have been interpreted slightly wrong. Before some reform of traffic signs in the early 1970s it was simple. That yellow sign with the place's name on it in black letters tells you a) where you are and b) that traffic regulations change from "out of built-up areas" to "inside built-up areas". One rule is: no parking at the curb of a street outside towns/villages. Inside a tosn/village you may of course stop or park at the curb unless it is forbidden by a no-parking sign. And the most important rule is that 50 km/h max rule. Before that reform you were informed about the edge of the village/town by another yellow sign that had the name of the next place along that road on it plus the distance to it. So you knew where you were going and how far it was to get there. Then came this new sign with a red bar through the place's name and that was it. People protested and joked that they did not need any information about where they had been. They would have kown that and were no idiots. They wanted to know where they were heading. And so a compromise was found. Well, when the distance to the next place is not mentioned on the sign it may be that your understanding is fully correct. You leave one town or village and enter the next one immediately. Such a thing would e.g. be if Greater Manchester was in Germany. You would drive through Salford and would then find a sign that has the name Salford crossed out in its lower part and the name Manchester above it. And the same thing would happen when you changed from Manchester to Stockport.
I don’t think the end-of-village sign with a distance number for the next one village is meant to signal that the next village starts right there. Those signs indicate the beginning and end of built-up areas. In this example, there were no buildings anymore. I think they just forgot to put the distance on, or it was so close that they didn’t bother. Moreover, the 50 km/h sign was a temporary one which was preceded by an also temporary road works sign.
Thanks Richard I learn too much from your lesson full videos and I get pass my driving exam last week and moving to Germany next months it's more better also I should watch your videos from Germany.
In the winter you need winter tyres they have a mountain symbol michelin cross climate are great as you can use them all year and nearly same price as summer tyres you will need them in certain areas of France, Italy and all of Switzerland -you also need snow chains in the car
You'll also need a first aid kit in Germany. Washing your car in the streets or on your driveway is, for environmental reasons, not allowed. Every German city and larger town has has a low emission zone and to be able to drive there you must have a low emission sticker which can be purchased either online before you go to Germany or in a garage that does MOT's (TUV). Winter tyres are compulsory but you can still drive with normal tyres. Should you be involved in an accident then it is very likely that your fine will be higher.
5:43 the one townname with the arrow next to it is the next town down the road. It doesnt mean youre going into the next one instantly. Also the 50 sign looked like a temporary one as the sign wasnt put into the ground but being held down by weights
@@zaixai9441 Oil and detergents are bad for the groundwater, which is what we drink and has to be purified at great expense. Only for the convenience of some. Car washes have oil separators.
Wastewater and rainwater is collected and treated in separate sour systems. While wastewater has to undergo extensive treatment before it can be discharged, drain water gets less treatment before discharge. So soap is a nuisance.
Fun fact. Speed limits on the motorway in Germany can only be enforced after 400m. So if a stretch of motorway has a temporary speed limit less than 400m. You don't really need to slow down
Wrong. Well, speed limits should only be enforced after 100-400m (depending on the state), but it still can be enforced right after the sign. I know speed cameras that are only a few meters behind the first sign. The 100-400m rule is only a recommendation that you can not rely on.
Regarding your video 'Driving in Germany' you mentioned that cleaning your car in public is banned. I was born in Germany in 1968 and moved to the UK in 1993. At the time was already forbidden to wash your car in public places because of environmental reasons. They are very particular how to dispose the chemicals you use to wash your car. Germany was the first country in Europe to act ecology, eg already in the 80s they started to recycle, separate and organize the rubbish.
12:02 For your infromtion if you Plan to enter the Areas make sure you have a "Umweltplakette" (can be Gotten at the nearest Car technical inspections cenerts(Dekra, TÜV, GTÜ, and others)) this does apply to Foren plated veachles Not to just German ones! A Violation of Not haveing one or haveing a car with a Lower Emission sticker(ex: going with a 3 into a 4 zone) is 100€
Surface water (rain) goes directly into the next river or into some drainage area where it can trickle into the ground. It does not pass sewage works as "grey" or "black" water does that leaves our homes. And that would mean that all that soaps and detergents plus some oil and other hazardous chemicals pollute our waters when cars are washed in the streets or on your driveway, unless you have an oil separator on your yard. To my knowledge, farmers, who wash their tractors and other machinery on their yards, have such items.
@@RichardFanders Our rivers were foaming with all that soap back in the 1970s when people grew more and more concerned about the environment. Banning carwashing in the streets and on driveways was one of the many simple steps to prevent that damage. The number of cars had been rising steadily and proud dads who washed their vehicle each Saturday morning was a common sight. Our sewage system is dual, as I described. The term is "Trennkanalisation", from "trennen", to keep apart, separate, divide. Wastewater gets into the sewage plants through pipes and sewers further down under the streets and surface/rainwater gets caught in the gullies/rain water drains that is then simply led into rives, is held back in reservoirs to avoid flooding ("Regenrückhaltebecken" : zurückhalten=keep back) or is simply allowed to trickle down outide the cities. Authorities have become very alert about the cleanliness of that water. There are cases that they have traced back the use of forbidden herbicides that people had sprayed on their paved driveways and that had then found their ways into the rainwater system.
I found driving on UK motorways to be much more relaxing since there isn’t as many variable speed limits (except for the smart motorways around London and B’ham). Also most UK motorways are 3 lane whereas most German Autobahns are 2 lane - this makes no sense to me since they’re unrestricted and you almost always come across many slower lorries overtaking other lorries… apart from all this I believe road safety standards are much higher in the UK than in Germany. You’ll usually find cat’s eye road studs all across UK roads and there’s emergency refuge areas on smart motorways where the hard shoulder can be used as a lane as well (eg. most notably M25 or M6). Quite long stretches of UK motorways (especially around metropolitan areas) are also well lit with street lamps everywhere. There’s also more attention to detail as the road surface changes depending on the situation… if you pay close attention to it you’ll notice that the road surface is a lot lighter just before junctions, roundabouts or some exit slip roads. This different road surface helps slowing cars down as it increases the drag force for tyres… I’m guessing all of these safety features play along and they might also be ultimately the reason why UK roads are one of the safest roads in Europe. German roads are rather simple and German road planning is rather primitive especially compared to neighbouring countries like the Netherlands… Another annoying thing is the fact you need to pay to go to the toilet at service stations… 65 pence for an okay-ish toilet. What a rip off if you ask me… most UK service stations offer free toilets with superb cleanliness and lots of other free to use facilities. Same applies at train stations comparing Germany/EU to UK. I don’t understand how they expect you to pay for a basic human need.. especially when the toilets aren’t even clean.
I agree with you, I've noticed pretty much exactly what you've written. The high grip surfaces in slowing down areas are to reduce stopping distances in emergencies. The UK is one of the safest places to drive in the world even though many people moan about it. I also like our national speed limit out of town roads, you can enjoy motoring without breaking the law and Scotland is just an amazing place to drive. North West Scotland is the best part. But I have to say, I really liked the deristriced autobahns. I do remember a lot of it being 3 lane though, autobahn 8 I used a lot.
@@RichardFanders The unrestricted parts of the Autobahn are nice but the combination of being a transit country in the middle of Europe with lots of lorries & 2 lane unrestricted motorways doesn’t quite work well… there’s 3 lane motorways in metropolitan areas as well but generally saying the majority is still 2 lane unfortunately. I believe a lot of German motorways are being upgraded to 3 or even 4 lane motorways atm, hence there’s quite a lot of roadworks going on. But from my experiences even the motorway roadwork planning is quite poor with extremely narrow lanes next to big lorries, making it extremely nerve wrecking for drivers to overtake in roadwork sections… obviously you also see parts of UK motorways getting upgraded and maintained but the overall planning seems much better as there’s no narrow lanes or anything like that. The road width restrictions on motorways are being kept as minimal as possible during roadworks, this is just not the case in Germany. I believe this is also one of the many reasons why a lot of accidents happen when there’s roadworks on German Autobahns. I’m not surprised after all and I also don’t understand why they do it this way… if they manage to maintain motorways in the UK or the Netherlands without having to make lanes unnecessary narrow - then why can’t they do the same in Germany?
@Marc Lp @Richard Fanders First of all i have to say it‘s a great video and you pretty much involved every useful fact for foreigners to drive safely in germany. What i have go say is that actually most of the german autobahn consists of 3 lanes per direction. Of course there are many 2 lane section that are derestricted as well. Even though statistically it‘s safer to drive in the UK i would still say it‘s really safe driving on german roads considering all the freedom you have especially choosing your own comfortable traveling speed. I realize that most of the accidents happen due to people underestimating the speeds driven on the autobahn. I often see foreigners (also often locals) cutting in front of me to the left lane with 110 km/h while i‘m arriving with 230 km/h even though they aren‘t overtaking anyone. So it‘s a combination of not knowing or sticking to the rules and an estimation problem. Furthermore one thing i would advise foreign people to do when driving on the autobahn is to get used to the speeds and to constantly check the mirrors to get a feeling for how fast cars can approach you. Hence you can slowly but surely adapt to that to be safe and get a better feeling. Just wanted to add that. But i also drove in the UK once. It was pretty good roads at some points but also pretty boring because you feel like you don‘t cover a lot of distance while driving and the fact that as a german you have to pay in every other country to drive there whilst everyone else doesn‘t need to pay to drive in germany is pretty annoying. Also a reason why people often have to pay a small amount to pee at roadway stations is because they need to maintain everything around it and the roads itself because the driving is for free. At least that‘s what i‘m always told by the owners when asking them. Otherwise enjoy your time and keep on producing great content👍🏻 Best regards, a viewer from germany
@@marclp2612 autobahn is very overrated. I do 155-170 mph almost every week and I've never been caught. You just need to know your way around the motorway close to you.
You’re gonna get your license suspended once you get caught. I’m not sure if you can outrun the police helicopter I prefer German roads where I can legally drive as fast as I want.
Some comments as usual. First, be aware that the alcohol limit in the UK is not always as stated 0.08%. In Scotland it is lower and is the same as France and Germany. Petrol is available in 3 types, not 2. There is the high octane 97-99%, which is E5. There are also 2 types of 95 octane, E5 and E10. Usually E10 is ~6 cents/litre cheaper than E5. Currently diesel is cheaper than petrol in Germany. One sign you may see under a speed limit sign is 'Larmschutz'. This is a speed limit which is in plcae for noise abatement. This may be limited to certain times of the day, usually night-time. The spped limit on single carriageway main roads is 100kph, but the Germans have a habit of placing 70kph speed limits at juction, whether traffic light controlled or not. This is the type of short limit Richard is referring to. As one person comments on below, washing cars is banned due to the run-off of detergents and other pollutants. The car washes ae required to dispose of any water responsibly.
Great video! But you made a wrong conclusion regarding the safety. Most people in Germany have severe accidents on rural roads ("Landstraße") and not particularly on the Autobahn. Deaths occur as follows: 59% on rural roads, 30% in cities and 12% on Autobahns (2021 figures).
The figures I had stated that significantly more people die on autobahns than on UK motorways, which is what I was referring to in the video - not sure if I made that clear. I don't have the figures with me now but I remember them being significantly higher per billion miles driven than in the UK. In the UK it's also true that most deaths happen on rural roads. If I remember correctly it was about twice the deaths per billion miles driven on the German autobahn than the UK motorways.
@@RichardFanders never forget, your motorways are shorter, your cars slower, you are less people and many foreigners driving on German Autobahn...their accidents are counted, too! and the numbers of foreign people on the UK motorways isnt comparable to Germany, with 9 countries bordering it in the center of Europe, while the UK have a small border with Ireland and its outside of Europe!
Driving on the right is the norm in most of Europe nowadays. The left-driving countries/territories are, off the top of my head: - Cyprus 🇨🇾 - Ireland 🇮🇪 - Isle of Man 🇮🇲 - Malta 🇲🇹 - States of Guernsey 🇬🇬 (inc. Alderney, Sark, and Herm) - States of Jersey 🇯🇪 - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧 Numerous countries/territories in Europe have switched from left traffic to right traffic in the past 100+ years.
Passed my first driving test in Germany in 1953. Have been back many times and found it was nicer driving there as people use indicators all the time something that does not happen in the UK.
Have my German driving test in a few weeks 6th October, It was better for me to learn here once I had moved just so I understand the rules and well considering I now live here, it just made more sense than nipping "home" to do it there and coming back. There is so much that is different in the rules and how things work here, so much the same as well but the differences are pretty big when they occur. My advise to anybody is do not speed, for obvious reasons this is not good but believe me they absolutely love their speed cameras, little parked cars with them, normal road side cameras, temp ones and believe me they all work. Indicate only when you exit roundabouts, and the right before left is important and you will only see it really in 30 limits and 30 zones. Any bus at any stop with its hazard lights on means only pass at walking speed, whether on the buses side or coming from the other direction. I like driving here, whether I will pass my test on the 6th oct is another thing but here is to hoping lol
Thanks for the video, many pertinent points, however it doesn't apply to all states. I drive regularly in Rheinland Pfalz, and have driven in Baden Wurttemburg. They are completely different in their approach. Be careful not to take Germany as an homogeneous area, it has many diverse localities. And if you've never experienced rapidly fluctuating and unnecessarily low speed limits, head for the marches on the Welsh border, its littered with them.
8:48 you get priority over ANYONE who isn't on the yellow diamond road. Not just the Right Side. Very typical to see a diamond road with 2 give ways on either side You also have bold line thin line intersection diagrams showing where the DIAMOND road goes.
My local state roads authority is a fan of the “Fatality rate per 100 Milion vehicle kilometres travelled” currently it’s at 0.38 for September 2023 (latest).
Remember the priority from the right rule, you must understand this, is vital. Many towns have no road markings and the priority rule, rules. You must always give way to pedestrians or cyclists when turning, always. Its different, learn that and quickly.
14:47: You had to switch to the right lane in this situtation. If you can drive there for 20 seconds you HAVE to do it, you get one point for that (8 and your driving license is gone, and before that you get your driving license revoked for some months) and like 100 Euro fine.
Seems unecessary to me if I can see I will have to change lane again soon and there is no one behind. Is there a Germany Highway code that says 20 second limit without overtaking? Changing lane more than necessary due to a time limit rule is surely less safe?
@@RichardFanders The law says the ‘passing lane’ shall only be used for passing other vehicles. The courts have interpreted this to mean that you are allowed to stay in the passing lane if you would have spend less than 20 second in the righthand lane before passing the next vehicle. This always-return-to-the-right-lane-after-passing and the never-pass-on-the-right (except in heavy traffic at speeds below 60 km/h) has to be seen in the context of the unrestricted speed in large parts. If you are driving fast, you really appreciate people moving out of the way swiftly after passing. It makes driving fast easier if people don’t stay in the the left lane longer than necessary. Ditto for not having to worry about somebody passing on your right is more important with larger speed differentials. The saying in Germany is that no matter how fast you drive, there could always be somebody faster behind you, so please make room for them if you can.
I just want to say that deaths per inhabitants is not necessarily a good measurement to compare the UK and Germany. Since Germany is in the middle of Europe, it's a "drive-through" country. This means Germany has a lot more people using the road who are not actually citizens.
3:32 You cant really say that. With >0.5 you are going to loose your license With >0.3 and an accident you will propably loose your license You should view it as 0.3, but in best case, dont drink at all.
5:30 Your assumption WOULD BE correct if the sign DID NOT HAVE the arrow pointing up next to the village name. With the arrow it means that this is the next town you will reach on this road. Without the arrow it means you are now in this town. Cheers.
WOOOHOOO! First the comment and now a whole video on driving in Germany! Great video as always! :3 btw: you have seen the most beautiful places in germany I imagene, where I live there's nowhere such sight! :D Edit: Right? They tend to tell you lots of stuff with all these signs but not when you get out of a resticted zone... im my lessons the teacher often said "but you could see the road works are no longer here"... well sure I can see that... but I would like some conformation 😅 The cleaning thing applies to detergent-based washing I assume, at least that's what I got to hear sometimes, no one taught me that :D. But afaik, you could do it when you have an appropriate drainage system on your property. On the gas stations there's often some bucket of water with some cealing tool for the windows.
You always use some form of detergent when cleaning a car though. I use a drop of simonez car was, doesn't leave much in the way of suds on the floor and usually I only need one bucket of water which I pour down the drain when I'm finished with it.
Driving to Germany from UK in 3 weeks and found this video extremely helpful, thanks ! Question: did you have to adjust your mirrors to deal with the opposite side of the road ? Or did you get a mirror extension ?
In suburbs look out especially for the "Rechts vor Links" (Right before Left) rule, where basically vehicles/bicycles emerge from a side road without even glancing to the left. It's bonkers unsafe I know, but it happens. Germans are used to it. Also, many Germans do not look first when using a pedestrian crossing. They are just exercising their 'right' to cross. Another unsafe practice, but there you go. Indicators? -all german drivers have broken fingers.
Notably it is illegal to signal when entering a roundabout in germany and you should only indicate your exit. Unlikely to get you pulled over but good to know nonetheless.
Unlike many other european countries, the road signs in Germany are the sole information given to you - there are seldom additional road markings or street furniture or special road constructions such as speed bumps. Thus a 30km/hr sign is there to be seen and obeyed and if you happen to be concentrating on the large lorry coming the other way or the cyclist doing funny things and miss seeing the sign -bad luck if a mobile speed camera catches you. You may see a "no overtaking sign" but there is seldom any corresponding white line markings on the road to confirm it. Be also aware of the day of the week and time of day it is because that is often when a restriction sign is applicable. My cynical opinion is that these signs are for lawyers rather than road safety. Be also aware that few Autobahn are lit at night, including road works ( that is why there are so many accidents there) and no cats eyes either to mark the lanes. Road works lane changes are marked in yellow which have priority over the normal white lines. However at night when it is raining, they look the same.
I think in practice giving way to the right is only done in 30km/h zones, at least that's what it's like in the Netherlands. It's also useful to know the sign that's a warning triangle with an X in it, which warns you that you should give way to the right at the intersection after it. And regarding the fussy speed limits, I was in Poland recently which has national speed limits of 50, 90, 100, 120 and 140 km/h as well as changing the limit seemingly every 2 minutes. Needless to say I have never seen as many people ignoring the limits anywhere in the EU 😅
I've been to Poland many times but never driven there. My other half passed her test there. I do know about the x in a triangle but I thought that was only in France.
@@RichardFanders The sign is in use in most of the Vienna Convention countries, but only really common in France as far as I know. In the Netherlands and most others, they are very rare and only used when the intersection also has poor visibility or where you might mistake the side road for a driveway.
Giving way to the right is a general rule in Germany. It is valid as long as there are no other regulations in place. The general order of precedence is: Police Officers > Traffic Signs/Traffic Lights > Give Way to the right. In practice that usually means that you have to give way to the right whenever there are no traffic signs or traffic lights at a junction (usually the case in residential areas and side roads in town). You very rarely see police regulating traffic, but when they do, their word is the law :)
@@FzNd Yeah it's the same in the Netherlands and that's what you get taught for the theory test. However, the general convention is that junctions with priority to the right are only in 30-zones inside cities and 60-zones outside built up areas. With some exceptions like industrial estates.
@@RichardFanders try it out! I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised about our relatively good road conditions and the overall good behaviour of our drivers!
One evening I was just wondering how it could be drive a car in UK and than I see this Video and than I realized it is my city at the begging of the video.
Very useful, I am driving the length of Germany later this month. How do you know which bits of the Autobahn are the unrestricted ones? Is there a sign? Thanks
No one will say anything to you for following the rules in Germany. You can go 2-3km/h above the speed limit, but anything above will trigger a blitz, if any.
as a new driver in Germany, that's a lie lmao. I go the speed limit by setting my car's limiter to exactly what it is and keep to it, I get tailgated all damn day. Especially semi trucks but also everything else, it's like formula 1 levels of sniffing your exhaust where I literally can't even see the mercedes logo on said truck or SUV, 18 inches further forward and they could just park in my trunk. Going any slower next to parked cars on the right lane is a cardinal sin, and usually I have to then accelerate harshly for people to understand that they should not pull into the road 2 seconds in front of me. Only thing saving my sanity, really, is that I dailied an EV and could pull away from intersections really quickly, giving me a few seconds of calm if the road was clear Presumably this is different for foreign plates, however I just mean that Germans are no saints, just not particularly awful maybe. As in any other country, they'll get mad at you for not knowing some rule, or for following another one, then 5 minutes later do the exact same thing they were raging about
when enterring a "real" roundabout we do not blink. real roundabout has a blue sign with three arrows going in a circle. there are also "fake roundabouts". Its when I see a go-right sign but no roundabout sign. in this case it's a one way road going in a circle and rules for normal roads apply. therefore u need to blink when entering. in both cases u have to blink when u exit tho
@@RichardFanders The rule is that you have to indicate when you are leaving the roundabout. But you are also allowed to indicate right when entering the roundabout if you are going to leave it at the first exit (this is useful in small roundabouts where you have almost no time inside the roundabout to indicate if you leaving it right away at the first exit).
Also, roundabouts are much rarer and work very differently to the UK (at least from what I could tell through your videos in the UK). You have to give way to any traffic inside, you ONLY indicate AS you're leaving and most of the roundabouts only have one (marked) lane, so if you're going to the inside, be prepared to go multiple laps or cause accidents if you want out again. That's why I kinda dislike roundabouts in Germany, as they are more stressful to use than traffic lights and can actually clog up easily inside urban areas because inside traffic always takes priority and nobody lets anyone join in.
the UK roundabouts are even worse, people driving on the wrong side in the wrong direction and most times crossing lanes without looking, if they even know what a lane is, to fast.... and after you drove 3 roundabouts, you dont even know the direction you driving if you dont use a compass.. im dont have problems in German roundabouts! and why would i stop inside a roundabout to let you in, that idea defeats the purpose of it 100%... or is it that your UK license plate gives you special rights in Germany no German knows, maybe holding the union jack out of the window will get you noticed that you are that special...
@@Arltratlo I tried to compare to what I've seen on his videos, I've never been to the UK. And seeing they have multiple lanes and do stop inside to let people in, that makes UK roundabouts very different to German ones. That's it.
@@the_listamin what are you talking about, in Germany you have also roundabouts with traffic lights inside....they have up to 4 or 5 lanes sometimes, i could show you 2 not so far away from my place... and the UK drivers barley can manage to drive their own roundabouts... because i have to been to the UK... so i know what i am talking about... i enjoyed north Scotland, because they had normal street crossings!
Believe car washing is banned to prevent soapy water getting into the drains for rain water. Should be easy enough to find a self-service car washing area if you want to do it yourself though.
That's pretty much the reason for it; the "ban" on car washing is all about sewage issues. That being said, there is no *general* ban on washing your car at home. It depends on where your home is. If your wash water will be drained in the sewage system, you are allowed to wash your car. If there is a chance of the water seeping into the ground on your property (or worse a natural body of water), then you are not allowed to wash your car at home. Bottom line: if you want to wash your car at home, contact your local administration and make sure you're allowed to do so.
thanks for the videos, loving them! drove in germany 2018 and something i noticed was that hgvs would always only use the inside lane in the roadworks, anyone know if this is a law? made the road works so much quicker, although the hgvs were queued for miles.
Inside roadworks in Germany the outside (left) lane is narrower than the right one, in fact it's too narrow for trucks. Not sure if they are technically allowed to use it tho.
@@azmc4940 there are areas where lorries cant overtake...there is a special traffic sign for it... also, on a 3 or more lane highway, you are only allowed with a lorry under 3.5t to use all lanes... above 3.5t, only the right and 2nd lane...because lorries have a speed limit of 80kph... so let them drive on a fast lane where people can drive 400kph, makes no sense in Germany!
Beware that many insurances explicitly provide no coverage there. Also, if you have an accident there you have to pay a huge amount for damage on the track. 1 m of this protection side-shit is like 100 Euros, plus installation cost etc.
I haven't got any protection. It already has quite a few stone chips. I did think about paint protection film but I decided to seeing how it goes and if needed get some parts repainted. The front bumper is vulnerable and the sill in front of the rear wheel gets hit too. Only really notice them when I'm cleaning it though.
@@RichardFanders Thanks! I think you could get partial protection film only for the more vulnerable areas to keep the cost down. Would be interesting to see what you decide on though!
About not legal to wash your car in Canada, it involves washing it on the street or your driveway in front of your house because the dirty water would drain into the storm drain down the gutter. It says the chemicals and oils would be polluting. However, when it rains or in some cases floods like in the US and China and lots of places it would be OK. Also, if you wash it on grass in your yard or gravel/sand area it's OK as well. It's kind of crazy. Then governments should provide self wash hoses and direct the water to your regular household drainage to water treatment plants which we all have. That will solve the problem. But no. So even when it's illegal it does show many people getting tickets. The police have way too much crimes to solve and not enough police to start with.
u can turn right on a red light (there will be a painted green arrow under this set of lights-indicating that you are allowed but have to give way to cyclists crossing your path anyway
Can anyone explain why are GB license tags not acceptable? If they were legally obtained, what's the issue? In North America, we can go between U.S. Canada and Mexico without having to worry about what our tags look like. Seems like EU likes to make shit complicated for no reason.
The UK government changed our I.V.R. sticker from GB to UK a couple of years ago, supposèdly to be "more inclusive towards Northern Ireland" (N.I. is in the UK but not GB). The police don't really enforce I.V.R. stickers, I don't think, but you're supposed to display the correct one for the jurisdiction in which your car is registered.
@nobbynobbynoob Seems like a bureaucratic stupidity. Sure, change newly issued tags, but whatever is already out, it's grandfathered. We still see tags from 20 years ago, with different Color scheme and slogans. No one will be pulled over by a state Trooper or denied entry into Canada as long as they're legal. Weird!!!!
Autobahn is less dangerous as he says.... for Germans... if you not used to it, be alert and never forget, if you are fast, someone else is always faster!
In Germany on the Autbahn when you hit congestion you have to pull up in the queue leaving appropriate space to allow emergency vehicles through
You should do more of these. Like one based in France or Spain for example
German Tip: Never fuel on autobahns! Motorway prices are often 50cents above those in town per litre which can mean more than 20eur more per refill. It’s ridiculous and often avoidable with some planning. Fill up in town eg when getting to your hotel in the evening (when prices are lowest for the day), preferably E10 to stretch your cash
Good advice, but I think this is normal in every country.
@@MSM4U2POM nope. The difference is often not nearly as big even for neighbouring countries especially around the border areas. Recently got reminded of this in Luxembourg and Austria - amazing prices on highway stops (for Germans)
@@Pkari I'll have to take your word for that, my friend. I do remember paying significantly more in France and in Germany, but since prices are always far higher at motorway fuel stops in the UK as well, I just assumed it was normal. All the best.
@@Pkari In Britain they seem to cost about 30% more. USA aside, this seems to be the standard.
14:06 In Sweden where I'm from, this is banned here as well, and it's because cleaning your car in the driveway for example pollutes local lake waters. So therefore it's not allowed. 😀
Same here in Netherland.......
Not that anyone would care unless you live next to the office of the legislators.
I also think it might only apply if you live in a a vattenskyddsområde.
And cleaning your car in a car wash doesn't pollute? Does the water go somewhere else if it's in a car wash. I'm all for responsible practice, but some shit seems draconian and exaggerated.
@@bmw803 as far as I am aware, where this law does apply the car washes usually have to filter the water they discharge.
@@allanmanley6340 This is not mandated by the government (country) but by municipality (local) in the Netherlands. So in some places it is fine and some it is not.
I also want to add that its mandatory to have a complete preferably sealed first aid kit in ur car. Such kits can be bought at most gas stations or hardware stores.
3:33 just a little correction... it’s actually 0.08 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland... in Scotland it is also 0.05 like Germany. So if you are English going up to Scotland bear in mind the lower limit too! And if you are Scottish going to the continent, the limit is the same as at home.
I have a little correction to make: You can turn right at a red light if there is a green arrow, after you stopped and made sure that no one wants to go in the same direction. Most people still roll slowly towards it and drive if there's no one.
I would be interested in the number of foreigners involved in Autobahn accidents because I assume some people from other European countries come here to drive the highest speed possible.
That you. That's a good point about the autobahns. Having the freedom to drive at the speed you feel comfortable with instead of a fixed limit was nice, I enjoyed my time in Germany, the black forest is beautiful.
9:30 the regular "no overtaking" sign applies to all motor vehicles, regardless, of the number of wheels. There is one with a lorry on the left side. This one applies to vehicles above 3,5 tonnes.
you can overtake a motorbike in an no passing zone...because it got only 1 wheel per axle...
not allowed if a Harley tows a trailer... they are a kind of car, the drivers are above 80yrs old!
Cleaning car at home in Germany is an environmental issue ,no pollution in drains allowed
hi Richard, i just want to say massive thanks, to your videos on learning to drive. it really helped with the areas i was struggling with. i picked up useful tips, on how to approach manoeuvres and how to correct yourself, if things start to go wrong. i started watching after i failed first time. i passed my test today and buzzing second time. so thank you for your videos. top legend, have a good easter richard
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Brilliant video just what I needed. Thinking of taking a family to Germany keep it up. Thank you
Nice vid, most useful. One addition - certainly in Bavaria you can't leave your car in idle either at the side of the road or in a car park, you must turn it off.
In Germany there are uniform traffic rules ('Straßenverkehrsordnung = StVO'), therefore it is forbidden everywhere to let the engine run unnecessarily, e.g. also at closed railway crossings.
Oh the timed speed limits... on the autobahn aroung Ingolstadt (a city between Munich and Nuremberg), there's one section that's 120/130 from around 21:00-06:00, and zone of the same speed from 06:00-21:00 - exactly the opposite! Also (and this took me a while to realise) there are often speed limits (often 70km/h) directly above a sign warning of traffic lights - the limit only applies until you've left the junction, at which point it no longer applies (usually back up to 100).
Now I like driving fast, but usually am in a relatively small car, although you'd be surprised how stable a Ford Fiesta is at +160km/h (100 mph)! Tip for people wanting long nice open stretches of autobahn, the A94 from Munich towards Austria has some really nice stretches with no limit, and seems to be relatively lightly travelled (at least on a Sunday mid-late afternoon), which is even less common than stretches without limits!
Cheers! great quality chat and detailed info as always.
cool channel
Deaths per 100,000 people is not a good method of calculating road safety without taking into consideration how much the average person drives. A country with higher car usage would appear to have more dangerous roads even if the deaths per mile were the same.
True.
My local state roads authority is a fan of the “Fatality rate per 100 Milion vehicle kilometres travelled” currently it’s at 0.38 for September 2023 (latest).
There is a UA-cam channel I watch called AutoTopNL, and they do autobahn tests for different high performance cars.
They do those tests in a German autobahn that has no speed limit, although they live in the Netherlands.
Great video. I’m driving to Amsterdam and Germany next week so this was handy thanks.
Two things you mentioned in passing, but I didn't pick up on in time.
1) Low Emissions Zones - I realized late that I was booked at a hotel inside a low emissions zone, and I ordered a low emissions sticker before leaving, but it didn't arrive until I was already there. Luckily it's easy to get one in person at a TÜV station (like their MOT) by showing your V5, which you have anyway.
2) Parking after 3 minutes - the reviews for where I was staying included loads of people getting parking fines before they could get their hotel parking notice. I queried that and they explained German parking disks, so it's worth getting one of those ASAP from a petrol station on entering Germany and putting it on the dashboard whenever you park.
But all-in-all your videos were very helpful and helped me be more comfortable driving across Europe. Thanks.
Order from berlin local authority they are pretty quick and it will cover all zones in Germany
So useful for my forthcoming trip. Lots of detailed info - much appreciated. :)
Great video as always Richard if possible you should do more videos like this 👊🏽
I loved your video! Very precise and indepth, just like Germans would like :)
We have more similarities with Germany signs and rules wise than we do with the UK. For example, we also have a dimond sign, but it doesn't mean priority over vehicles on the right, it means priority road, meaning you have priority over other vehicles (right and left). I was confused and had to check, and trusting this German site, they have the same meaning for this sign as we do, and most other countries in Europe, to my knowledge anyway.
It is improtant to note though, if the priority road turns right or left you will see the sign bellow, where a thick line shows a priority road. IF priority road turns right and you want to go ahead, that means you and the car on the right are in even conditions - you are both on the priority road. THIS is where give way to the right rule works, you would have to give way to them. It makes sense if you think about it, because you are effectively crossing a priority road the same way you would when you turn left, but it can catch people out, because people see the diamon and assume they have priority over everyone.
Another point I'd like to make is the signs you see on traffic lights posts are backup signs. They work when the lights are off, or flash yellow.
I am not German, but I am 99% confident it works the same way in Germany. Germans are free to correct me.
The site: www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/driving-germany/road-signs#:~:text=road%20narrows%20ahead-,Priority%20road,-You%20have%20right
Hi Artem, I think you probably know more than me on this one. It was almost the same as the UK though. Essentially, if I was crossing someone's path, I had to give way.
@@RichardFanders I can only speak for rules in my country, so I'd like some confirmation from a German.
Edit: enjoy your holiday!
Thanks Artem, we've already been back for nearly two weeks. There are some more videos to come from this trip. I hope you're still OK.
@@RichardFanders still ok, and will be :)
Looking forward to those videos.
About fussy speed change, this is exactly what I find annoying in the UK. You speed up your car from 30 to 50 and after quarter mile it again down to 30 again.
You are allowed to drive on summer tyres in winter and on winter tyres in the warmer months BUT when you have an accident that is mainly or partly caused or just made more serious because of the "wrong" kind of rubber at your car's feet, your insurance will not be very happy about that and deny full payment. Winter tyres are softer and are therefore more adequate for cold conditions. Summer tyres get too hard in winter and that means they lose grip on the road, no matter what their profile is. And when it is hot a soft winter tyre will not hold your car steady in curves because it will bend sideways.
Cross climate is ok though
Some modern adaptive headlights will automatically adjust for driving on the right.
5:39 the arrow + village name means, that village is coming up. the 50kph speed limit there seems like a temporary one (not permanently installed), probably due to some construction.
The end-of-village/town sign might have been interpreted slightly wrong. Before some reform of traffic signs in the early 1970s it was simple. That yellow sign with the place's name on it in black letters tells you a) where you are and b) that traffic regulations change from "out of built-up areas" to "inside built-up areas". One rule is: no parking at the curb of a street outside towns/villages. Inside a tosn/village you may of course stop or park at the curb unless it is forbidden by a no-parking sign. And the most important rule is that 50 km/h max rule. Before that reform you were informed about the edge of the village/town by another yellow sign that had the name of the next place along that road on it plus the distance to it. So you knew where you were going and how far it was to get there. Then came this new sign with a red bar through the place's name and that was it. People protested and joked that they did not need any information about where they had been. They would have kown that and were no idiots. They wanted to know where they were heading. And so a compromise was found. Well, when the distance to the next place is not mentioned on the sign it may be that your understanding is fully correct. You leave one town or village and enter the next one immediately. Such a thing would e.g. be if Greater Manchester was in Germany. You would drive through Salford and would then find a sign that has the name Salford crossed out in its lower part and the name Manchester above it. And the same thing would happen when you changed from Manchester to Stockport.
I don’t think the end-of-village sign with a distance number for the next one village is meant to signal that the next village starts right there. Those signs indicate the beginning and end of built-up areas. In this example, there were no buildings anymore. I think they just forgot to put the distance on, or it was so close that they didn’t bother. Moreover, the 50 km/h sign was a temporary one which was preceded by an also temporary road works sign.
Thanks Richard I learn too much from your lesson full videos and I get pass my driving exam last week and moving to Germany next months it's more better also I should watch your videos from Germany.
Congratulations on passing!
In the winter you need winter tyres they have a mountain symbol michelin cross climate are great as you can use them all year and nearly same price as summer tyres you will need them in certain areas of France, Italy and all of Switzerland -you also need snow chains in the car
You'll also need a first aid kit in Germany.
Washing your car in the streets or on your driveway is, for environmental reasons, not allowed. Every German city and larger town has has a low emission zone and to be able to drive there you must have a low emission sticker which can be purchased either online before you go to Germany or in a garage that does MOT's (TUV).
Winter tyres are compulsory but you can still drive with normal tyres. Should you be involved in an accident then it is very likely that your fine will be higher.
5:43 the one townname with the arrow next to it is the next town down the road. It doesnt mean youre going into the next one instantly. Also the 50 sign looked like a temporary one as the sign wasnt put into the ground but being held down by weights
14:25 as a german, I‘ve heard it‘s because the chemicals are dangerous for the environment.
Everything is a chemical.
@@zaixai9441 Oil and detergents are bad for the groundwater, which is what we drink and has to be purified at great expense. Only for the convenience of some. Car washes have oil separators.
Wastewater and rainwater is collected and treated in separate sour systems. While wastewater has to undergo extensive treatment before it can be discharged, drain water gets less treatment before discharge. So soap is a nuisance.
Checked in again for a refresher ahead some European travel. Great video as ever!
Fun fact. Speed limits on the motorway in Germany can only be enforced after 400m. So if a stretch of motorway has a temporary speed limit less than 400m. You don't really need to slow down
Wrong.
Well, speed limits should only be enforced after 100-400m (depending on the state), but it still can be enforced right after the sign. I know speed cameras that are only a few meters behind the first sign.
The 100-400m rule is only a recommendation that you can not rely on.
Regarding your video 'Driving in Germany' you mentioned that cleaning your car in public is banned. I was born in Germany in 1968 and moved to the UK in 1993. At the time was already forbidden to wash your car in public places because of environmental reasons. They are very particular how to dispose the chemicals you use to wash your car. Germany was the first country in Europe to act ecology, eg already in the 80s they started to recycle, separate and organize the rubbish.
Great vlog, really informative. We're going for the first time next week and learnt so much from you. Many thanks.
12:02
For your infromtion if you Plan to enter the Areas make sure you have a "Umweltplakette" (can be Gotten at the nearest Car technical inspections cenerts(Dekra, TÜV, GTÜ, and others)) this does apply to Foren plated veachles Not to just German ones! A Violation of Not haveing one or haveing a car with a Lower Emission sticker(ex: going with a 3 into a 4 zone) is 100€
Learn also that the yellow sign with a black line through it means you do NOT have the priority...as in many towns and villages.
Very informative and lots of people will learn from it if driving abroad.Thanks for producing this video!
1:10 oi! This is a Mazda! You won’t be broken down!
Surface water (rain) goes directly into the next river or into some drainage area where it can trickle into the ground. It does not pass sewage works as "grey" or "black" water does that leaves our homes. And that would mean that all that soaps and detergents plus some oil and other hazardous chemicals pollute our waters when cars are washed in the streets or on your driveway, unless you have an oil separator on your yard. To my knowledge, farmers, who wash their tractors and other machinery on their yards, have such items.
That makes sense, I've not heard of a problem with car wash detergents in the UK though. I'm not sure how our drainage systems work.
@@RichardFanders Our rivers were foaming with all that soap back in the 1970s when people grew more and more concerned about the environment. Banning carwashing in the streets and on driveways was one of the many simple steps to prevent that damage. The number of cars had been rising steadily and proud dads who washed their vehicle each Saturday morning was a common sight.
Our sewage system is dual, as I described. The term is "Trennkanalisation", from "trennen", to keep apart, separate, divide. Wastewater gets into the sewage plants through pipes and sewers further down under the streets and surface/rainwater gets caught in the gullies/rain water drains that is then simply led into rives, is held back in reservoirs to avoid flooding ("Regenrückhaltebecken" : zurückhalten=keep back) or is simply allowed to trickle down outide the cities. Authorities have become very alert about the cleanliness of that water. There are cases that they have traced back the use of forbidden herbicides that people had sprayed on their paved driveways and that had then found their ways into the rainwater system.
My experience of Autobahns saw speed limits before every junction, service station and long hills.
I found driving on UK motorways to be much more relaxing since there isn’t as many variable speed limits (except for the smart motorways around London and B’ham).
Also most UK motorways are 3 lane whereas most German Autobahns are 2 lane - this makes no sense to me since they’re unrestricted and you almost always come across many slower lorries overtaking other lorries… apart from all this I believe road safety standards are much higher in the UK than in Germany. You’ll usually find cat’s eye road studs all across UK roads and there’s emergency refuge areas on smart motorways where the hard shoulder can be used as a lane as well (eg. most notably M25 or M6). Quite long stretches of UK motorways (especially around metropolitan areas) are also well lit with street lamps everywhere. There’s also more attention to detail as the road surface changes depending on the situation… if you pay close attention to it you’ll notice that the road surface is a lot lighter just before junctions, roundabouts or some exit slip roads. This different road surface helps slowing cars down as it increases the drag force for tyres…
I’m guessing all of these safety features play along and they might also be ultimately the reason why UK roads are one of the safest roads in Europe. German roads are rather simple and German road planning is rather primitive especially compared to neighbouring countries like the Netherlands…
Another annoying thing is the fact you need to pay to go to the toilet at service stations… 65 pence for an okay-ish toilet. What a rip off if you ask me… most UK service stations offer free toilets with superb cleanliness and lots of other free to use facilities. Same applies at train stations comparing Germany/EU to UK. I don’t understand how they expect you to pay for a basic human need.. especially when the toilets aren’t even clean.
I agree with you, I've noticed pretty much exactly what you've written. The high grip surfaces in slowing down areas are to reduce stopping distances in emergencies. The UK is one of the safest places to drive in the world even though many people moan about it. I also like our national speed limit out of town roads, you can enjoy motoring without breaking the law and Scotland is just an amazing place to drive. North West Scotland is the best part. But I have to say, I really liked the deristriced autobahns. I do remember a lot of it being 3 lane though, autobahn 8 I used a lot.
@@RichardFanders The unrestricted parts of the Autobahn are nice but the combination of being a transit country in the middle of Europe with lots of lorries & 2 lane unrestricted motorways doesn’t quite work well… there’s 3 lane motorways in metropolitan areas as well but generally saying the majority is still 2 lane unfortunately. I believe a lot of German motorways are being upgraded to 3 or even 4 lane motorways atm, hence there’s quite a lot of roadworks going on. But from my experiences even the motorway roadwork planning is quite poor with extremely narrow lanes next to big lorries, making it extremely nerve wrecking for drivers to overtake in roadwork sections… obviously you also see parts of UK motorways getting upgraded and maintained but the overall planning seems much better as there’s no narrow lanes or anything like that. The road width restrictions on motorways are being kept as minimal as possible during roadworks, this is just not the case in Germany. I believe this is also one of the many reasons why a lot of accidents happen when there’s roadworks on German Autobahns. I’m not surprised after all and I also don’t understand why they do it this way… if they manage to maintain motorways in the UK or the Netherlands without having to make lanes unnecessary narrow - then why can’t they do the same in Germany?
@Marc Lp @Richard Fanders
First of all i have to say it‘s a great video and you pretty much involved every useful fact for foreigners to drive safely in germany. What i have go say is that actually most of the german autobahn consists of 3 lanes per direction. Of course there are many 2 lane section that are derestricted as well. Even though statistically it‘s safer to drive in the UK i would still say it‘s really safe driving on german roads considering all the freedom you have especially choosing your own comfortable traveling speed. I realize that most of the accidents happen due to people underestimating the speeds driven on the autobahn. I often see foreigners (also often locals) cutting in front of me to the left lane with 110 km/h while i‘m arriving with 230 km/h even though they aren‘t overtaking anyone. So it‘s a combination of not knowing or sticking to the rules and an estimation problem. Furthermore one thing i would advise foreign people to do when driving on the autobahn is to get used to the speeds and to constantly check the mirrors to get a feeling for how fast cars can approach you. Hence you can slowly but surely adapt to that to be safe and get a better feeling. Just wanted to add that. But i also drove in the UK once. It was pretty good roads at some points but also pretty boring because you feel like you don‘t cover a lot of distance while driving and the fact that as a german you have to pay in every other country to drive there whilst everyone else doesn‘t need to pay to drive in germany is pretty annoying. Also a reason why people often have to pay a small amount to pee at roadway stations is because they need to maintain everything around it and the roads itself because the driving is for free. At least that‘s what i‘m always told by the owners when asking them. Otherwise enjoy your time and keep on producing great content👍🏻
Best regards,
a viewer from germany
@@marclp2612 autobahn is very overrated. I do 155-170 mph almost every week and I've never been caught. You just need to know your way around the motorway close to you.
You’re gonna get your license suspended once you get caught. I’m not sure if you can outrun the police helicopter
I prefer German roads where I can legally drive as fast as I want.
Some comments as usual. First, be aware that the alcohol limit in the UK is not always as stated 0.08%. In Scotland it is lower and is the same as France and Germany.
Petrol is available in 3 types, not 2. There is the high octane 97-99%, which is E5. There are also 2 types of 95 octane, E5 and E10. Usually E10 is ~6 cents/litre cheaper than E5. Currently diesel is cheaper than petrol in Germany.
One sign you may see under a speed limit sign is 'Larmschutz'. This is a speed limit which is in plcae for noise abatement. This may be limited to certain times of the day, usually night-time.
The spped limit on single carriageway main roads is 100kph, but the Germans have a habit of placing 70kph speed limits at juction, whether traffic light controlled or not. This is the type of short limit Richard is referring to.
As one person comments on below, washing cars is banned due to the run-off of detergents and other pollutants. The car washes ae required to dispose of any water responsibly.
Great video! But you made a wrong conclusion regarding the safety. Most people in Germany have severe accidents on rural roads ("Landstraße") and not particularly on the Autobahn. Deaths occur as follows: 59% on rural roads, 30% in cities and 12% on Autobahns (2021 figures).
The figures I had stated that significantly more people die on autobahns than on UK motorways, which is what I was referring to in the video - not sure if I made that clear. I don't have the figures with me now but I remember them being significantly higher per billion miles driven than in the UK. In the UK it's also true that most deaths happen on rural roads. If I remember correctly it was about twice the deaths per billion miles driven on the German autobahn than the UK motorways.
@@RichardFanders never forget, your motorways are shorter, your cars slower, you are less people
and many foreigners driving on German Autobahn...their accidents are counted, too!
and the numbers of foreign people on the UK motorways isnt comparable to Germany,
with 9 countries bordering it in the center of Europe, while the UK have a small border with Ireland and its outside of Europe!
I'm so glad to learn that they drive on the CORRECT side of the road in Germany
Driving on the right is the norm in most of Europe nowadays. The left-driving countries/territories are, off the top of my head:
- Cyprus 🇨🇾
- Ireland 🇮🇪
- Isle of Man 🇮🇲
- Malta 🇲🇹
- States of Guernsey 🇬🇬 (inc. Alderney, Sark, and Herm)
- States of Jersey 🇯🇪
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧
Numerous countries/territories in Europe have switched from left traffic to right traffic in the past 100+ years.
Passed my first driving test in Germany in 1953. Have been back many times
and found it was nicer driving there as people use indicators all the time
something that does not happen in the UK.
Was Waiting for a video like this Can you do more like this its Fun
Have my German driving test in a few weeks 6th October, It was better for me to learn here once I had moved just so I understand the rules and well considering I now live here, it just made more sense than nipping "home" to do it there and coming back. There is so much that is different in the rules and how things work here, so much the same as well but the differences are pretty big when they occur. My advise to anybody is do not speed, for obvious reasons this is not good but believe me they absolutely love their speed cameras, little parked cars with them, normal road side cameras, temp ones and believe me they all work. Indicate only when you exit roundabouts, and the right before left is important and you will only see it really in 30 limits and 30 zones. Any bus at any stop with its hazard lights on means only pass at walking speed, whether on the buses side or coming from the other direction. I like driving here, whether I will pass my test on the 6th oct is another thing but here is to hoping lol
The rule in Germany is O bis O for winter Tyres. That is October to Easter ( Ostern). If you do not have the correct Tyres you risk a fine.
Superb. Thank you. Just what I needed.
P.S. Your car insurance may not cover you if you crash at a speed above 130.... Check!
Thanks for the video, many pertinent points, however it doesn't apply to all states. I drive regularly in Rheinland Pfalz, and have driven in Baden Wurttemburg. They are completely different in their approach. Be careful not to take Germany as an homogeneous area, it has many diverse localities.
And if you've never experienced rapidly fluctuating and unnecessarily low speed limits, head for the marches on the Welsh border, its littered with them.
8:48 you get priority over ANYONE who isn't on the yellow diamond road. Not just the Right Side. Very typical to see a diamond road with 2 give ways on either side
You also have bold line thin line intersection diagrams showing where the DIAMOND road goes.
My local state roads authority is a fan of the “Fatality rate per 100 Milion vehicle kilometres travelled” currently it’s at 0.38 for September 2023 (latest).
Speed limits in mph: Built-up areas-31 occasionally 25, Non-built-up areas-62, Autobahnen- advisory 81.
Remember the priority from the right rule, you must understand this, is vital.
Many towns have no road markings and the priority rule, rules.
You must always give way to pedestrians or cyclists when turning, always.
Its different, learn that and quickly.
Thank you for this info.
14:47: You had to switch to the right lane in this situtation. If you can drive there for 20 seconds you HAVE to do it, you get one point for that (8 and your driving license is gone, and before that you get your driving license revoked for some months) and like 100 Euro fine.
Seems unecessary to me if I can see I will have to change lane again soon and there is no one behind. Is there a Germany Highway code that says 20 second limit without overtaking? Changing lane more than necessary due to a time limit rule is surely less safe?
@@RichardFanders The law says the ‘passing lane’ shall only be used for passing other vehicles. The courts have interpreted this to mean that you are allowed to stay in the passing lane if you would have spend less than 20 second in the righthand lane before passing the next vehicle.
This always-return-to-the-right-lane-after-passing and the never-pass-on-the-right (except in heavy traffic at speeds below 60 km/h) has to be seen in the context of the unrestricted speed in large parts. If you are driving fast, you really appreciate people moving out of the way swiftly after passing. It makes driving fast easier if people don’t stay in the the left lane longer than necessary. Ditto for not having to worry about somebody passing on your right is more important with larger speed differentials.
The saying in Germany is that no matter how fast you drive, there could always be somebody faster behind you, so please make room for them if you can.
In this case, it only took him about 15s to reach the next car. So he definitely did not need to switch to the right lane.
I just want to say that deaths per inhabitants is not necessarily a good measurement to compare the UK and Germany. Since Germany is in the middle of Europe, it's a "drive-through" country. This means Germany has a lot more people using the road who are not actually citizens.
3:32 You cant really say that.
With >0.5 you are going to loose your license
With >0.3 and an accident you will propably loose your license
You should view it as 0.3, but in best case, dont drink at all.
I didn't know that, from my research I found it as 0.05. That's intersting to know, thank you.
5:30 Your assumption WOULD BE correct if the sign DID NOT HAVE the arrow pointing up next to the village name. With the arrow it means that this is the next town you will reach on this road. Without the arrow it means you are now in this town. Cheers.
Great videos, thanks a lot.
This Video was Uploaded on the Day I past my Driving Test.
Passed on the 1st Try in Switzerland with a Manual Transmission.
Truck drivers are so considerate.
WOOOHOOO! First the comment and now a whole video on driving in Germany! Great video as always! :3 btw: you have seen the most beautiful places in germany I imagene, where I live there's nowhere such sight! :D
Edit: Right? They tend to tell you lots of stuff with all these signs but not when you get out of a resticted zone... im my lessons the teacher often said "but you could see the road works are no longer here"... well sure I can see that... but I would like some conformation 😅
The cleaning thing applies to detergent-based washing I assume, at least that's what I got to hear sometimes, no one taught me that :D. But afaik, you could do it when you have an appropriate drainage system on your property. On the gas stations there's often some bucket of water with some cealing tool for the windows.
You always use some form of detergent when cleaning a car though. I use a drop of simonez car was, doesn't leave much in the way of suds on the floor and usually I only need one bucket of water which I pour down the drain when I'm finished with it.
@@RichardFanders Germany has some crazy legislation, not gonna defend it :D
Driving to Germany from UK in 3 weeks and found this video extremely helpful, thanks ! Question: did you have to adjust your mirrors to deal with the opposite side of the road ? Or did you get a mirror extension ?
My normal mirrors and normal mirror adjustment was fine.
In suburbs look out especially for the "Rechts vor Links" (Right before Left) rule, where basically vehicles/bicycles emerge from a side road without even glancing to the left. It's bonkers unsafe I know, but it happens. Germans are used to it. Also, many Germans do not look first when using a pedestrian crossing. They are just exercising their 'right' to cross. Another unsafe practice, but there you go. Indicators? -all german drivers have broken fingers.
Notably it is illegal to signal when entering a roundabout in germany and you should only indicate your exit. Unlikely to get you pulled over but good to know nonetheless.
12:45 you don't wanna go there, mate. Trust me. Stick with the larger service stations and always keep 1 € in small change at hand. 🤣
Well if one is agile enough, going under the gate is an option 😅
Unlike many other european countries, the road signs in Germany are the sole information given to you - there are seldom additional road markings or street furniture or special road constructions such as speed bumps. Thus a 30km/hr sign is there to be seen and obeyed and if you happen to be concentrating on the large lorry coming the other way or the cyclist doing funny things and miss seeing the sign -bad luck if a mobile speed camera catches you. You may see a "no overtaking sign" but there is seldom any corresponding white line markings on the road to confirm it. Be also aware of the day of the week and time of day it is because that is often when a restriction sign is applicable. My cynical opinion is that these signs are for lawyers rather than road safety.
Be also aware that few Autobahn are lit at night, including road works ( that is why there are so many accidents there) and no cats eyes either to mark the lanes. Road works lane changes are marked in yellow which have priority over the normal white lines. However at night when it is raining, they look the same.
I think in practice giving way to the right is only done in 30km/h zones, at least that's what it's like in the Netherlands. It's also useful to know the sign that's a warning triangle with an X in it, which warns you that you should give way to the right at the intersection after it.
And regarding the fussy speed limits, I was in Poland recently which has national speed limits of 50, 90, 100, 120 and 140 km/h as well as changing the limit seemingly every 2 minutes. Needless to say I have never seen as many people ignoring the limits anywhere in the EU 😅
I've been to Poland many times but never driven there. My other half passed her test there. I do know about the x in a triangle but I thought that was only in France.
@@RichardFanders The sign is in use in most of the Vienna Convention countries, but only really common in France as far as I know. In the Netherlands and most others, they are very rare and only used when the intersection also has poor visibility or where you might mistake the side road for a driveway.
Giving way to the right is a general rule in Germany. It is valid as long as there are no other regulations in place. The general order of precedence is: Police Officers > Traffic Signs/Traffic Lights > Give Way to the right. In practice that usually means that you have to give way to the right whenever there are no traffic signs or traffic lights at a junction (usually the case in residential areas and side roads in town). You very rarely see police regulating traffic, but when they do, their word is the law :)
@@FzNd Yeah it's the same in the Netherlands and that's what you get taught for the theory test. However, the general convention is that junctions with priority to the right are only in 30-zones inside cities and 60-zones outside built up areas. With some exceptions like industrial estates.
@@RusNad Here in Germany its really common, you have it pretty much everywhere except big main roads.
I have drove in Andorra a few times and trust me no one follows the speed limit. There u see crosses on the road were people have died
I’d love to see you drive in my home country The Netherlands once! See how it compares to Germany ;)
I've cycled from the Hook of Holland to Amsterdam and back but I've not driven there.
@@RichardFanders try it out! I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised about our relatively good road conditions and the overall good behaviour of our drivers!
Netherlands roads are in perfect condition, much better than in the most part of Germany but your speed limit sucks. Greetings dear neighbours ✌
One evening I was just wondering how it could be drive a car in UK and than I see this Video and than I realized it is my city at the begging of the video.
Very useful, I am driving the length of Germany later this month. How do you know which bits of the Autobahn are the unrestricted ones? Is there a sign? Thanks
you paid no attention to what he had said???
Bruh watch the video again
They got speed limit signs same all over Europe
don't forget to stock up on 1 euro coins for service station toilets in Germany - you have to pay to use the toilet in German service stations
No one will say anything to you for following the rules in Germany.
You can go 2-3km/h above the speed limit, but anything above will trigger a blitz, if any.
as a new driver in Germany, that's a lie lmao. I go the speed limit by setting my car's limiter to exactly what it is and keep to it, I get tailgated all damn day. Especially semi trucks but also everything else, it's like formula 1 levels of sniffing your exhaust where I literally can't even see the mercedes logo on said truck or SUV, 18 inches further forward and they could just park in my trunk. Going any slower next to parked cars on the right lane is a cardinal sin, and usually I have to then accelerate harshly for people to understand that they should not pull into the road 2 seconds in front of me.
Only thing saving my sanity, really, is that I dailied an EV and could pull away from intersections really quickly, giving me a few seconds of calm if the road was clear
Presumably this is different for foreign plates, however I just mean that Germans are no saints, just not particularly awful maybe. As in any other country, they'll get mad at you for not knowing some rule, or for following another one, then 5 minutes later do the exact same thing they were raging about
Very informative, thank you. One question, do they indicate on roundabouts, turning right or exiting?
They only indicate when leaving roundabouts.
when enterring a "real" roundabout we do not blink. real roundabout has a blue sign with three arrows going in a circle. there are also "fake roundabouts". Its when I see a go-right sign but no roundabout sign. in this case it's a one way road going in a circle and rules for normal roads apply. therefore u need to blink when entering. in both cases u have to blink when u exit tho
@@RichardFanders The rule is that you have to indicate when you are leaving the roundabout. But you are also allowed to indicate right when entering the roundabout if you are going to leave it at the first exit (this is useful in small roundabouts where you have almost no time inside the roundabout to indicate if you leaving it right away at the first exit).
Your speedometer and rev counter are not working?
Also, roundabouts are much rarer and work very differently to the UK (at least from what I could tell through your videos in the UK). You have to give way to any traffic inside, you ONLY indicate AS you're leaving and most of the roundabouts only have one (marked) lane, so if you're going to the inside, be prepared to go multiple laps or cause accidents if you want out again. That's why I kinda dislike roundabouts in Germany, as they are more stressful to use than traffic lights and can actually clog up easily inside urban areas because inside traffic always takes priority and nobody lets anyone join in.
the UK roundabouts are even worse,
people driving on the wrong side in the wrong direction
and most times crossing lanes without looking, if they even know what a lane is, to fast....
and after you drove 3 roundabouts, you dont even know the direction you driving if you dont use a compass..
im dont have problems in German roundabouts!
and why would i stop inside a roundabout to let you in, that idea defeats the purpose of it 100%...
or is it that your UK license plate gives you special rights in Germany no German knows,
maybe holding the union jack out of the window will get you noticed that you are that special...
@@Arltratlo I tried to compare to what I've seen on his videos, I've never been to the UK. And seeing they have multiple lanes and do stop inside to let people in, that makes UK roundabouts very different to German ones. That's it.
@@the_listamin what are you talking about, in Germany you have also roundabouts with traffic lights inside....they have up to 4 or 5 lanes sometimes, i could show you 2 not so far away from my place...
and the UK drivers barley can manage to drive their own roundabouts...
because i have to been to the UK... so i know what i am talking about...
i enjoyed north Scotland, because they had normal street crossings!
Confusion... beam stickers, my headlights are autoleveling in a bmw, do I need stickers?
Going through Rastatt or Baden-Baden? :-)
With all those miles do you worry about a puncture without a full spare tire?
A little, I have a puncture repair kit.
I'm just wondering if cars wouldn't be a lot cheaper if you didn't always have to make a left-hand drive version for the UK.
That's a good point.
What red flashing lights?
This is great!
Believe car washing is banned to prevent soapy water getting into the drains for rain water.
Should be easy enough to find a self-service car washing area if you want to do it yourself though.
That's pretty much the reason for it; the "ban" on car washing is all about sewage issues. That being said, there is no *general* ban on washing your car at home. It depends on where your home is. If your wash water will be drained in the sewage system, you are allowed to wash your car. If there is a chance of the water seeping into the ground on your property (or worse a natural body of water), then you are not allowed to wash your car at home.
Bottom line: if you want to wash your car at home, contact your local administration and make sure you're allowed to do so.
@@FzNd There is really no way that you wont have water seep into the ground
In germany, don't you need the high visibility vest only for the driver? or is it just a rule for vehicles coming from outside of germany
Yes, correct. Only 1 vest is mandatory. But many european countries now want one for every passenger (e.g. NL), so not a bad practice to have more!
Anybody notice the overhead wires for the trucks?
A5 close to Freiburg!
thx for sharing
haha, here is not the lesson channel
thanks for the videos, loving them!
drove in germany 2018 and something i noticed was that hgvs would always only use the inside lane in the roadworks, anyone know if this is a law? made the road works so much quicker, although the hgvs were queued for miles.
Inside roadworks in Germany the outside (left) lane is narrower than the right one, in fact it's too narrow for trucks. Not sure if they are technically allowed to use it tho.
@@azmc4940 there are areas where lorries cant overtake...there is a special traffic sign for it...
also, on a 3 or more lane highway, you are only allowed with a lorry under 3.5t to use all lanes...
above 3.5t, only the right and 2nd lane...because lorries have a speed limit of 80kph...
so let them drive on a fast lane where people can drive 400kph, makes no sense in Germany!
Wow kind of funny Iam actually driving to Germany in about 70 days to the Nurburgring
I hope you have a good time.
Beware that many insurances explicitly provide no coverage there. Also, if you have an accident there you have to pay a huge amount for damage on the track. 1 m of this protection side-shit is like 100 Euros, plus installation cost etc.
@@foty8679 Thanks iam not taking my own car on track
But do they have the speed limit for clean air nonsense on their motorways.
how do you protect your car from stone chips, especially on motorways/autobahn? I imagine the MX5 is prone to that for how low the car is.
I haven't got any protection. It already has quite a few stone chips. I did think about paint protection film but I decided to seeing how it goes and if needed get some parts repainted. The front bumper is vulnerable and the sill in front of the rear wheel gets hit too. Only really notice them when I'm cleaning it though.
@@RichardFanders Thanks! I think you could get partial protection film only for the more vulnerable areas to keep the cost down. Would be interesting to see what you decide on though!
can you drive in germany without a passenger
Car washing ban is due to the soap chemicals being drained into the local environment. Car washes are set up to collect the soap chemicals.
About not legal to wash your car in Canada, it involves washing it on the street or your driveway in front of your house because the dirty water would drain into the storm drain down the gutter. It says the chemicals and oils would be polluting. However, when it rains or in some cases floods like in the US and China and lots of places it would be OK. Also, if you wash it on grass in your yard or gravel/sand area it's OK as well. It's kind of crazy. Then governments should provide self wash hoses and direct the water to your regular household drainage to water treatment plants which we all have. That will solve the problem. But no. So even when it's illegal it does show many people getting tickets. The police have way too much crimes to solve and not enough police to start with.
I live in Germany, it’s not banned at all to wash the car..
u can turn right on a red light (there will be a painted green arrow under this set of lights-indicating that you are allowed but have to give way to cyclists crossing your path anyway
Can anyone explain why are GB license tags not acceptable? If they were legally obtained, what's the issue? In North America, we can go between U.S. Canada and Mexico without having to worry about what our tags look like. Seems like EU likes to make shit complicated for no reason.
The UK government changed our I.V.R. sticker from GB to UK a couple of years ago, supposèdly to be "more inclusive towards Northern Ireland" (N.I. is in the UK but not GB).
The police don't really enforce I.V.R. stickers, I don't think, but you're supposed to display the correct one for the jurisdiction in which your car is registered.
@nobbynobbynoob Seems like a bureaucratic stupidity. Sure, change newly issued tags, but whatever is already out, it's grandfathered. We still see tags from 20 years ago, with different Color scheme and slogans. No one will be pulled over by a state Trooper or denied entry into Canada as long as they're legal. Weird!!!!
Autobahn is less dangerous as he says....
for Germans...
if you not used to it, be alert and never forget, if you are fast, someone else is always faster!