No Speed-limits on the Autobahn
and everyone is a Race-car-driver?
Well, that's not quite, what Driving is actually like in Germany.
So here is everything you need to know about it from a real German.
Hallo, Servus and welcome back to my YouTube-channel.
My Name is Felicia,
I'm originally from Munich Germany,
but I have been living in Cincinnati Ohio off and on since 2016.
So I've gotten a lot of Questions about Driving in Germany lately,
and I answered one Question about the Autobahn
and pushy Drivers in Germany in a recent Q&A Video
linked in the Description-box below,
and a lot of People commented on that Topic
and asked follow-up Questions.
So I've decided, that today I'll just cover the whole Topic
of Driving in Germany compared to the U.S
including getting a Driver's License,
Driving-laws,
Traffic-lights,
Behavior on the Roads,
differences in Cars,
Gasoline, and of course the Autobahn
and Speed-limits.
So while the Drinking-age in Germany is much lower
than in the U.S (it's 16 for Beer and Wine),
the Driving-age is actually higher.
This definitely has to do with the Fact,
that Driving in Germany can be pretty challenging,
and also that Children don't really need to be able to drive in order to get around.
People can usually get around with public Transportation or by Bike or something especially in urban Areas.
So you can officially start taking Driving-lessons at 16.5 in Germany,
and then you can get a preliminary License at 17 the earliest,
but this means, that you can only drive with your Parents or another approved Adult in the Car,
and you don't get your real License until you're 18,
and then there's a two-year Probation-period,
during which it's more severe,
if you commit any Traffic-violations.
Getting a License is regulated on the federal Level in Germany
just like everything regarding Driving
and not on the State-level like in the U.S.
So every German has to go through the same Process
and has the same Driver's License,
and getting a License is a lot more challenging in Germany than in the U.S.
This starts with the Costs:
Getting a Driver's License in Germany costs around 2000€ on average,
while in the U.S it's usually much cheaper 
with up to a few hundred Dollars or less.
It's also really time-consuming in Germany,
You have to take about 30 Hours of Driving-instruction in total with an actual Instructor not with your Parents,
which includes 12 Lessons with mandatory special Instruction like driving on Country-roads driving at Night and driving on the Autobahn.
On top of that you have to complete 20 Lessons of theoretical Education
get your Eyes checked
and attend a first-aid Course,
and then in the end you take a theoretical and a practical Test, and especially the practical one can actually be really hard in Germany.
You may have to go on the Autobahn
and also parallel park,
and I actually know a lot of People, who failed at the first Attempt,
because the Testers are really picky about tiny Mistakes.
And even for the preliminary Licence at 17 you have to go through all of this,
before you can drive with your Parents.
In the U.S it depends on the State,
but in most States you mainly practice with your parents or another person over 25,
that has your Parents' Permission.
In most States you can apply for a Learner's Permit
(which is what you need for that)
at the Age of 15 or 16.
In a few States it's even 14,
and then you get your actual license at 16 in most places.
If we take Ohio as an example,
there when you're a 15.5 years old,
you can just go to the D.M.V
(so the place issuing the Licenses),
take a quick Vision-test, complete a Theory-test on Driving-laws,
pay a Fee, and you get your Learner's Permit.
And most People just read the official Handbook, to educate themselves on all the Driving-laws and Road-signs needed for the Knowledge-test,
and, after you get your Learner's Permit, 
you practice Priving with your Parents,
and also attend Driving-school
for 6 Sessions of 4 Hours of classroom or online Driver-education
and 8 hours of practical Driving-instruction,
and then in the end your Parents also need to sign,
that you drove at least 50 Hours with them,
and then you take the Test
and can have your regular License at the age of 16
with a Probation-period until you turn 18,
which includes that you can't drive between midnight and 6:00 AM
without a legal Guardian.
Now if you get your License when you're over 18, you don't have to attend any Driving-school at all here.
You can just take the Test, whenever you feel ready
(the Test is free by the way, unlike in Germany)
and all you have to pay are the fees for the License.
A Friend of mine, who did that, only spent $50 in total for her Driver's License,
which is a pretty good Deal
compared to 2000€ in Germany.
But since driving manual Cars is actually 
more common in Germany than driving Automatics,
the Cars, with which we learned driving with
and with which have to take the Test, are always Stickshifts,
which is definitely also a Reason, why it takes longer,
to learn how to drive and get your License in Germany.
I did not have to take a Test in Ohio, by the way.
I was able to just show them my german License
and then get an ohio License for it,
which was awesome,
but that's not the Case in all States.
When it comes to Driving-laws,
there are a lot of Things,
that you should know before Driving in Germany:
First of all,
we do drive on the right [hand] Side of the Road,
just like in the U.S
(People sometimes ask me about that),
and most of our Traffic-signs
don't have Text on them like in the U.S.
They're usually symbols, which means,
that you don't have to read anything or know the Language,
but you do need to know the Meaning of the Symbols,
and then one of the most important Differences is,
that you're not allowed to turn right at a red Traffic-light,
unless there's a green Arrow
either as part of the Traffic-light
or as a permanent Sign like this.
So only in those Cases
are you allowed to turn right on red in Germany,
while in the U.S you're usually allowed to, 
unless there's a Sign saying no turn on red.
Another big Difference is how Intersections are organized:
In the U.S there are stop signs everywhere,
while we hardly have those in Germany.
So in the U.S, when there is an Intersection without a Traffic-light,
[this is most intersections]
either one of the 2 Streets has a Stopsign 
(which means that they have to Stop, and are only allowed to go, if no Cars coming on the crossing Street)
or it's a 4-way,
which means,
that all 4 sides of the Intersection have a Stopsign,
which means, that all Cars arriving have to fully stop first,
and then you go in the order of arrival at the intersection.
So if you get to the Intersection, after another Car did,
they're allowed to go first and then you go next.
In Germany the Time of Arrival
never plays a Role with these things,
instead there are different ways of how an intersection can be organized:
One option is,
that one Street has a right-of-way Sign like this,
which means this Street has the right-of-way for this Intersection and all Upcoming intersections,
or it's one like this, which means, that you have the right-of-way only for this Intersection.
The other Street will then have a Yieldsign,
which means that they have to wait
for the cars on the priority road to pass
before they go.
If there is no Sign at all,
we have a Rule called...
...which translates to ‚right before left‘.
You'll find this in Neighborhoods a lot, for example.
So at any Intersection coming up with no Signs,
you're supposed to slow down
(you're not required to stop all the way), but you need to look,
if there is someone approaching on the other Street,
and, if there is a Car coming from your right,
you have to stop and let them go first.
If 4 Cars get there at the exact same Time
you have to communicate via Hand-signal somehow
and then agree on who goes first,
and then it's priority to the right again.
I personally find the whole Stopsign-rule
in the U.S a little weird sometimes,
for first of all, in some Areas, you really have to stop
all the Time, even if you can already see,
that nobody's coming,
but more importantly you don't explicitly know that you're on a right-of-way Street.
It's like you're supposed to assume,
that if you don't have a Stopsign, you're good to go
but a lot of Americans always go like
„oh, okay the other Street has a stop sign so I can go“.
I feel like you shouldn't have to look at the signs for the other Street
and try to figure out from the back,
if that has the shape of a Stopsign.
It's not a big deal,
but I just personally would prefer
to also have a right-of-way Sign
on the Street that has priority
just so that you know, that
there is no Stopsign missing or something, and that you're actually good to go, and you don't need to check if the other Street has a Stopsign.
One more thing that you should be aware of is,
that other than in the 'States you're not allowed to talk on the phone while driving in Germany,
unless it's hands-free
and the Alcohol-limit to drive is 0.5‰,
which we measure it differently, than you guys in the U.S,
but it's just shifted by a Zero in the U.S, the limit is 0.8‰ .
Also, there's no Open-container-laws in Germany,
so you are allowed to have open alcoholic Drinks in your Car,
and your Car-passengers are allowed to drink while they're in your Car,
and you'd even be allowed to drink as a driver, but
needless to say nobody should ever do that.
Let's get to the next point traffic lights:
In Germany they're positioned on the Nearside of the Intersection, so on your Side, so right where you're supposed to stop,
which sometimes makes it hard to see them,
when you're the first Car at the Light,
because they're almost
above you. So if you're like the first Car, and you drove up really closely then you may have to go like this,
to see whether it's already green or not.
In the U.S they're usually on the other Side of the Intersection, so that you can see them really well,
but you're still supposed to stop at the marking on your side of the intersection, of course.
When I first came here this always threw me off so much,
whenever I was in a car with someone,
because I was so used to driving right up to the light itself,
and I thought, that I'll never be able to drive here,
because I just accidentally do that all the time,
and almost drive right into the Intersection,
but turns out once I actually started driving here myself,
it wasn't a problem at all.
The Lights are also usually on Poles in Germany
and not hung up on Wires like in the U.S and
and this is because we don't have any Wires above Ground in Germany really, 
because everything is underground there.
And also in Germany the Traffic-lights don't just go from red directly to green like in the U.S,
but they go from red
to red and yellow at the same Time,
and then to green and during the yellow Phase Germans like to get ready to go,
so, you know, engage a Gear and then
go right when it's green,
because we're pretty impatient on the Road,
which leads me to the next Point - Behavior on the Road.
I've mentioned that in the other Video.
So in my Opinion Germans definitely drive more aggressively than Americans
faster and are more impatient on the Roads.
In a german City it can be really stressful
to parallel-park on the Side of the Street,
because People are going to drive up super close behind you, and you can just tell that they're annoyed with you that they have to wait.
Here in the Midwest I honestly never find that to be a problem,
People are just pretty patient
and way more laid-back on the Road.
I always feel like I have a very american relaxed Driving-style, when I go back to Germany,
because I don't rush
and keep my distance to the cars in front of me,
but then, whenever I return to the U.S,
I feel very German driving here
and definitely drive a little more aggressively than before,
but I always try to adapt to the american Midwest style again pretty soon like
leave space, no rush, slow down in the Curves,
because you know it's just a lot safer.
And even though I do think that driving fast on the Autobahn is a lot of fun when there's no Traffic,
I do prefer driving on the Interstates in the U.S,
because I just find it a lot less stressful with everyone going about the same Speed here.
Okay, here we go:
So the Autobahn is the german Highway-system,
and I talked about this one briefly in the other Video,
and I mentioned how in my personal Opinion
driving on the Autobahn can be really stressful,
especially when there's some Traffic but no Speed-limit,
because People drive at very different Speeds then, and if you're neither going really slowly nor extremely fast but somewhere in the Middle,
you often end up having to switch Lanes all the Time,
and usually the Autobahn only has 2 to 4 lanes.
This is the example Scenario, that I described in the other video:
So if you drive on a 3 lane Autobahn this is what its going to be like:
[video]
[Video] The right [hand] Lane is going to be full of Trucks
except for Sundays, because they're banned on that Day so that's always a nice day to do longer drives
[Video] The Middle-lane is going to be full of People
going the Speed-limit or a little bit over the Speed-limit,
and if there is none, they're going go 130 140 km/h,
[Video]
[Video] and the left Lane is the Passing-lane,
where people literally go anywhere from 130km/h
to about 220km/h or even faster.
[Video]
Some people go up to 300km/h,
[Video]
which is about a 186mph,
[Video]
so pretty insane. So let's say you're on the Autobahn, there's no Speed limit right now you're driving in the middle lane, [Video]
but you want to go faster than 130km/h.
[Video]
[Video] So you switch to the left Lane,
which means you really have to speed up,
[Video] and, before you know it,
you see like a little Point in the Rear-mirror,
[Video] like an Audi driving at 220 km/h,
and boom 1 Second later he's right behind you,
pressuring you to find a Spot in the Middle-lane,
[Video]
[Video] to let him pass,
and once you do switch over to the Middle-lane again
he speeds up as fast as he can,
and whoosh he's gone, [Video]
and then you can do the whole Spiel all over again, because the Middle-lane is still too slow for you and you don't want to go that Speed. [Video]
Okay, so just to be clear, because it seems like the Way
I phrased this was misunderstood by some People,
of course, it's not like every Lane has its own Speed-limit.
It was just supposed to be an example of what the Situation often looks like.
Actually there's a Rule in Germany, that says, that you always have to drive as far right as possible on the Autobahn,
and also on Country-roads with more than one Lane,
and it's called the...
So it's illegal to pass on the Right,
so you have to go to the next Lane
to your Left to pass another Car,
but then once you have,
and the lane to your right is free,
you need to switch back to that Lane again.
I also said,
that People in the left Lane approaching with about 250 km/h
are sometimes so rude to flash you,
and some of you said that's not rude, 
they're allowed to do that or supposed to even,
and yes, they're allowed to from the far,
but, when I said that, I was kind of referring to those,
who drive up really closely and pressure you to get over
and flash you when you've
obviously already noticed them, but in my Experience
Flashing is usually not even necessary from the far on the Autobahn,
for, when there is no Traffic,
People don't usually block the left Lane,
it's really just the passing Lane, and, when you're on that, you usually check your rear-view Mirror all the time anyway,
to see if someone faster is coming.
Okay, so again referring to the other Video,
I said, that Germany is the only Country in the World,
where the Highways don't have a general Speed-limit,
but I'd like to correct that,
because that's actually not true.
There's one other Place even in Europe,
where there's no Speed-limit.
It's called the Isle of Man which is located between Ireland and Great Britain,
but even in Germany it's not like there's never a Speed-limit on the Autobahn,
In the other Video I said, that most parts of the Autobahn do have a Speed-limit, and again I'd like to correct myself,
for actually about 70% of the Autobahn does not have a Speed-limit,
and what I said was just from my personal subjective
Impression from driving on the Autobahn,
but subjective Memory doesn't always tell the Truth.
So the truth is, that on about 30% of the Autobahn
there's either a permanent Speed-limit
or a Motorway-control-system, that displays variable Speed-limits
depending on the current Driving-conditions or no speed limit at all.
When there's no Speed-limit, you'll see this sign,
and then there's only a so-called...
...but you're legally allowed to drive as fast as you want.
There have been attempts to implement a general
Speed-limit on all parts of the Autobahn recently,
but it was eventually rejected by the Parliament.
So no reason to worry for all of you,
who have driving on the Autobahn on their Bucket-list still.
I sometimes say, that this whole debate about Speed-limits in Germany is kind of like the smaller version of the Debates about Gun-control in the U.S,
because a lot of Germans are very defensive
about their rights to drive as fast as they want
and the bavarian Politician, Andreas Scheuer, even called the idea of a Speed-limit „insane“
and against all common sense.
When it comes to other Streets
like inner-city Streets or Country roads, etc,
please note that Germany does have Speed-limits on those and when you don't see a speed limit sign
then there's probably general Speed-limit in place.
So like 50km/h within built-up areas, so in towns cities and villages
and 100km/h on rural Roads.
So you should memorize those
before driving in Germany.
Now what happens,
when you go over the speed limit in Germany?
First of all, you won't see Police on the Side of the Road
or on the Median-strip of the highway
waiting for Speeders for instead,
we have Speeding-cameras in Germany.
They're on the Autobahn and basically on all Kinds of Streets,
so in Neighborhoods city streets country roads,
some of them are permanent, but usually they're set up temporarily so you never know, where they are.
And they're often hidden in the Bushes or like inside a parked Car or something, and if they catch you going too fast, you'll usually see it flash,
and then you'll get a Ticket in the Mail
a few Weeks later.
It's very rare,
that you're going to be pulled over right away like in the U.S.
Since the Speeding-cameras can catch way more People than the Police can,
it happens quite a lot to get caught, but the good thing is,
that the Fines are a lot less expensive than in the 'States,
where it's usually over US$100 or more. In Germany going like 10km/h over the Speed-limit
is usually around 15€,
but of course,
if you go way too fast or you're still in your Probation-period,
it can go up to several hundred Euros,
you may even get a Penalty-point in our Point-system, and obviously
you can lose your License in the worst Case.
When it comes to the Cars, that you see on german Roads, you'll see that they're a lot smaller overall,
which has different Reasons, but one of them definitely being that Germany is a much smaller Country with less Space.
So be prepared,
that our Streets and Lanes are much narrower than in the U.S,
and even Parking-spots and Parking-lots are much smaller,
so sometimes you can hardly get out of your Car,
even if both Cars parked perfectly within the Markings.
So the Cars, that you consider small in the States like a regular Toyota Camry or Honda Civic,
are actually considered a normal-sized Car 
in Germany or in Europe overall.
You hardly ever see those huge Pickup-trucks,
that People drive in the 'States,
and you'll see different brands on the streets, too, like you'll obviously see more German cars by...
...but also Opel,
which I've hardly ever seen in the U.S,
and while those german Car-brands are often more considered luxury brands in the U.S,
they're just our normal Car-brands in Germany.
They do vary in Pricing, of course,
and they have Luxury-models
but BMW per se is not considered a Luxury-brand.
You'll see it everywhere on german Roads especially in Munich where BMW is located.
Honda, Toyota and Hyundai, which you see quite a lot in the U.S,
are definitely less present in Germany.
You will see american Brands, like Ford, Chevrolet, Jeep,
but there are also Brands,
that you never see in the U.S like
Skoda from the Czech Republic,
Renault and Peugeot and Citroën from France
Suzuki cars, SEAT from Spain and many more.
I'm not exactly a Car-person, so in the Comments-section,
feel free to add to my list of Car-brands, 
that are common in one of the Countries
what I know for sure is, that a lot of the Brands sell different Models in Germany and the U.S.
So you may see a Model by Ford in Germany,
that doesn't even exist in the U.S,
and you also see a lot more
Hatchback-cars in Germany than here.
Another thing that is worth mentioning is,
that you won't see as many old, rusty and damaged Cars on the Road as in the U.S,
for in Germany we have something called...
...which stands for a Technical Inspection Association.
So by law all Cars need to be inspected every 2 years,
to make sure that they conform
with the regulations on Road-safety and environmental Protection.
So you have to pay for the Inspection and
possibly for necessary Repairs,
and then you get an Inspection-sticker on your License-plate, and, if your car doesn't pass the Inspection,
you're not allowed to drive it anymore.
Also, as I said earlier,
most Cars in Germany are Stickshift,
even though automatic is becoming more popular each Year,
but still about 70% of all Cars on german Roads are Manuals,
and if you travel to Europe and get a Rental-car,
it's likely that you'll get a Stickshift, too,
so keep that in mind.
In the US only about 18% of all People even know how to drive a Manual,
and only about 5% of the Cars sold are Manuals.
Another point is, that you'll see a lot of Cyclists on the roads,
especially in the Cities in Germany.
In a lot of cases they'll have Bike-lanes,
but they're also just on the Road,
so you need to make sure to look out for them,
especially when turning right.
When you get your License in Germany, 
you're actually taught to always look back 
and see if there's a Cyclist coming before you turn right,
and also the sirens for Police-, Ambulance-, and the Fire-department sound different,
which is probably something worth knowing. They sound like this in Germany:
[continental siren]
Okay, so this is my last Point on this topic, Gasoline:
Gasoline is much more expensive in Germany, which is also a reason why Germans don't usually like to drive big trucks that need a lot of Gasoline.
Right now, everything's cheaper due to Corona
but usually Gasoline in Germany costs around €1,40 per litre,
which equals about US$5.70 per Gallon,
while in the U.S it's usually around $2.60 cents per Gallon.
So for a full Tank I usually pay around 65-70€ in Germany,
while it's only around $30 in the U.S, I mean,
I Drive different Cars in the 2 Countries, but
just to give you an idea.
Also when getting Gasoline in Germany, 
you don't have to prepay like you do in the U.S.
Here in the U.S you either have to go to the Counter at the Gas-station,
and tell the Person, that you want to get Gasoline for let's say $20, and then they activate it for you
or you pay right at the Pump with your Card, which means that you'll have to insert your Card first, and then you can Pump.
Without paying there's usually no Gasoline 
coming out of the Pump at most Gas-stations in the U.S,
while in Germany you just go there,
pump your Gasoline (it's always open), and then you go inside afterwards, tell the Cashier the Pump-number you were at
and pay the Amount, that you owe.
Okay, so I really try to cover everything,
that's worth mentioning on this Topic.
Let me know if I forgot about something, 
but I hope you guys enjoyed this video.
I hope it was helpful and informative
and if it was
let me know by giving this Video a Thumbs-up.
Also quick Announcement at the end: 
There's going to be another Video,
but thank you guys so much for 60,000 subscribers, I really feel like I can't keep up with like the subscribers specials and everything
I haven't even done one for 50,000, but
I'll do a personal Q&A this Week.
So if there's something that you'd like to know about me,
feel free to leave a Question in the Comments together with #askagerman, because that's how I make sure that I find all of your questions.
So that's kind of going to be the Subscriber-special for 50&60k Subscribers,
I hope that's okay.
If you have other requests, please also let me know in the comments,
but for now, don't forget to subscribe to my Channel,
if you haven't yet
activate the Bell to get notifications for new Video-uploads,
follow me on Instagram,
and I hope I'll see you next time.
[In German: Bye!]
