Kultur 4

The Almighty Red Dictator and his Jolly Green Cousin.

^That's not what I'm writing my post about, but I thought I'd post that picture.

Ich möchte über der Richtgeschwindigkeit schreiben. And guess what... there are no speed limits in Germany!

Wunderbar, isn't it? Actually, that's not totally accurate. The legendary German Autobanhs will often have no posted speed limit (about 50% do but only 10% are ever enforced), but in other cases the roads are not so free. There is no universal national speed limit for highways, although in cities and towns posted speed limits based on local requirements govern the roads. On most roads and highways (autobahnen), you will see signs suggesting 130 km/h (80mph). But i say suggesting because--get this--exceeding these speeds is NOT PUNISHABLE by law. On 80mph highways, you can actually go as fast as you want and never have to worry about getting pulled over. That is, of course, unless you get in an accident (in which case more liability may be shoved upon a speedy driver).

Within cities and towns is another story, however, as is the case for towing vehicles, heavy vehicles, trucks, and mopeds. These roads will almost always have posted speed limits depending on congestion of traffic and environmental concerns. On these roads, exceeding the limit by as little as 3 miles per hour could result in a fine.

German roads (including the lawless autobahnen) are actually some of the safest in the world. Based on what I read earlier, that may have something to do with the fact that most Germans would prefer to ride a bike as opposed to drive a car whenever possible.