Highway to hell!

I moved to Germany 2 years ago, and was afraid of highways being like Mad Max, but I was positively surprised.
Most drivers are very attentive and skilled, keeping the rules, driving safe. I like it much better, than Eastern EU, where people are also going 150+, and are being assholes in the meantime. The upper limit of 130 just puts stress on me, because I obey the laws, but the giant SUV in my ass flashing their highbeams does not. In Germany this barely happens to me, most drivers are polite and safe, even in expensive sports cars.
I really came to enjoy the liberating feeling of driving at my own (and the traffic’s) pace on the autobahn. Yesterday I was travelling between Dusseldorf and Berlin, long open stretches of 3-lane roads, with only a few cars around. I was going around 200, yet I saw a car far behind me coming up fast, some polite flashes of lights from the distance, I pull to the right, and let a Porsche pass me quickly.
I might sound like a carbrain, but I’m not. Everybody should try German highways once, so they can form their own opinion, and not judge based on internet memes. I feel 10x safer on the autobahn, than on some shitty Eastern EU highway with a bunch of apes around me, who don’t care about the rules.
- 200 kph is 9,500 mph, for us Americans.
  
  What the hell is that figure, it's 125mph
  
  I don't understand. How much bananas per quarter dishwasher squared is that?
- because I obey the laws
  flashes of lights from the distance, I pull to the right
  Doesn't sound like you were obeying the Rechtsfahrgebot.
  
  Of course, you are right, but ...
  if you are driving fast and don't want to constantly switch lanes imo it is ok to drive in the left lane while constantly checking if there is someone behind you for whom you need switch to the right lane (yeah, yeah, still illegal).
  
  Maybe they were just passing a truck?
  Or is it the arschlochpflicht that forces germans to write this type of comments?
- Driving at those speeds uses exponentially more fuel. RIP planet earth :(
  
  I‘m all in favor of a general 130 km/h limit on German autobahn. In addition to being better for the environment, it would make our already relatively save autobahn even saver. But I have a feeling that the speed limit in Germany is similar to the gun discussion in the US. It’s a very emotional topic for many people.
- I like it much better, than Eastern EU, where people are also going 150+, and are being assholes in the meantime
  You should try Italy. Total culture shock the first time I drove there. Especially, entering via Switzerland where they are completely anal about traffic rules.
- On the Autobahn, always stay in the right lane if you are not passing. If the Polizei catch you lingering in the passing lane, they might ticket you.
- There are no "polite flashes". If you have to bully other cars out of the left lane, you're driving faster than traffic allows.
  
  Polite or not, in German driving school you are taught to use either the horn or flash your high beams to signal intent to overtake. So flashing the high beams from a distance could be seen as polite since you will not ride their ass before they have time to move to the right to let faster traffic pass.
  
  Yeah. But if they pull over after somebody "politely" flashes at them, they aren't obeying the traffic rules in the first place as those require them to drive in the right lane if they can at all times.
  
  If I'm going really fast I may give people who are just sitting on the left lane a single flash when I'm still quite far away so they are aware I'm closing in.
  Going fast is only possible on a quite empty road anyways.
  
  At least where I live, the law allows for using flashes to indicate that you want to overtake.
  
  they are deiving in the wrong lane

Jokes aside you are only allowed to drive as fast as is safe for those around you
- clears throat
  MOVE removed, GET OUT THE WAY
  E: explicit version

It's more like if you drive too fast you're not insured. Oh, by the way, road works, 80km/h. Aaaand you're free again! Have f- oh no, roadworks again, 80 pls. Ok done. Now you can really hit the gas! Joke, roadworks again haha, 80! Finally done, now we promise we don't have roadworks anymore, enjoy! Aaaand welcome to the Netherlands, 100 please.
- Oh, by the way, road works, 80km/h. Aaaand you’re free again! Have f- oh no, roadworks again, 80 pls. Ok done. Now you can really hit the gas! Joke, roadworks again haha, 80! Finally done, now we promise we don’t have roadworks anymore, enjoy! Aaaand welcome to the Netherlands, 100 please.
  If that isn't the most accurate description of driving through Germany, I don't know what is :D
- Ironically, Germany is the only country where I’ve gotten speeding tickets on the highway when driving through Europe east to west or vice versa. I’m still not entirely sure whether it was because of road works, the fact that I had a (small) trailer, or something else.
  
  With a trailer you're limited to 80kph (or 100kph im some cases)
  And police is setting also setting up "distance traps" on the Autobahn, you can get a ticket (or even lose your license) for tailgating.
  
  For trailers, there is a general speed limit of 80km/h, unless the trailer is suitably equipped and officially approved for 100km/h and is towed by a suitable vehicle. (Here, the specifics get complicated, because Germany) Trailers capable of driving at 100km/h must be marked at the rear with a sticker.
  
  At least their fines aren't as ludicrously high as other EU countries. It's only high when you speed next to roadworks I think.
- It's more like if you drive too fast you're not insured.
  First time I ever heard this. You lose insurance? What?
  
  Yeah, you are allowed to drive as fast as you like on some Autobahns, but if you have an accident and your speed is deemed to be faster than safe, the insurance companies are like "nah bro, you brought this on yourself"
  
  If something happens with you faster than 130km/h on the autobahn you're not automatically covered by insurance. You won't lose insurance, you're just only fully insured when you stay under 130. Above you make unnecessary risks and the insurance company won't cover that, if speeding is the cause of the accident.
  I asked chatgpt and it is a bit different than what I thought. It came with this answer:
  You are not automatically uninsured if you drive faster than 130 km/h. However:
  If you're involved in an accident while exceeding 130 km/h, you may be held partially liable (Mitverschulden) — even if the accident was mostly the other party’s fault.
  This can reduce your insurance payout.
  Your insurer might reduce compensation if speeding is found to have contributed to the severity of the accident, even indirectly.
  
  Never heard of this, but you are likely to be deemed at fault due to reckless driving above certain speeds.
- if you drive too fast you’re not insured
  I explicitly asked my insurance company (verbally, not a chatbot) about this last time I went to Germany. They said as long as I'm not breaking any laws, my insurance is valid. No speed limit means there is no "too fast to be insured".
  
  I believe it only counts for German insurance companies. As it's their country with no speed limit, so it's a standard extra risk. When you go abroad to Germany your own insurance doesn't have these high risks because it's not all their customers driving on these roads. But that's what I think, I'm not sure but it sounds logic to me.

regarding the legality of breaking the sound barrier:
if i remember correctly there’s is an indirect general speedlimit, because any vehicle moving below a certain height is not allowed to go beyond 400 something kph. now this is intended for planes and helicopters and such, but afaik also applies to cars. therefore breaking the sound barrier, sadly, would be illegal. besides, i think breaking the sound barrier is limited to certain zones anyways.
i’m not trying to nitpick on the joke, but rather give supplementary information that may be interesting.
- Plus there's noise limits.
  
  If you break the sound barrier then there is no noise.

The US drivers could not handle the German traffic rules, punishments and technical checks for their vehicles. Over half of the vehicles in the USA would fail the Dekra and TÜV inspections.
- Absolutely! So many incredibly bad drivers and so many garbage cars. Never seen so many broken down cars along a highway. And all the shredded tires. Makes me glad to have something like the TÜV, even though it can be annoying at times.

German here. It is true that yes, there are some parts of the German highway where there is no official speed limit. But often times, be it through traffic or speed limits, you can't drive that fast.
- I was there three months near the border close to Amsterdam and I found outside the city and outside of everyone heading home you pretty much average 125mph+ in any reasonable performance car. I was in an older 911 so I must have averaged 150 with it being a sports car. I would do a mild or two, slow down 125 to minimize the delta while passing, and then could quickly speed up again.
  It might not be all the time but we never legally make it past 70mph despite wide open roads outside the city. Makes me sad.
  
  Amsterdam is not close to any border. On the other hand, the Netherlands is very small, so in that sense you’re always close to a border :)
- Drivers of Audi, Mercedes, BMW be like
- Are the no limit zones shown on google maps?
  Also how well/visible are the signs?
  I fear thinking some section is no limits only to get a massive ticket.
  Of course I would drive after the conditions
  
  Signs are quite visible. Around here (Munich) most of the Autobahn speed limits are electronic signs anyways, which can be turned off or on set to a limit between 60 and 120 due to traffic or weather conditions. *
  "Normal" speed limits signs are being repeated every 30 seconds or so, google. maps also shows the limit while navigating and a lot of newer cars detect the signs as well and show the current limit on the speedometer.
  Current cars must play a warning sound (by law) each time you exceed the limit. (You may turn the warning off for the current trip)
  btw there's one electronic sign per lane on a "bridge - like" construction and here in Bavaria they include mounting points for speed trap cameras.
  
  99% of the time it’s obvious, especially with modern cars that read the signs plus apps like google maps (though sometimes at least one of those is wrong). You can also look around and see how fast everybody is going, eg. when you enter the highway in an unknown area, and not sure about the speed limit for that section. If I’m uncertain, I just drive normally until I see a sign that comfirms the speed limit.
  I am regularly going around 200 km/h, and the only ticket I got was going 99 at an 80 sign next to a closer and renovated lane. It was around midnight, I was already slowing down, but didn’t want to slam on the brakes harder.
  
  Google was fine as well as road signs. The traffic around you is also a good indicator. You'll catch up real quick when things slow down.

Just make sure you respect the Rechtsfahrgebot
- Yeah. The left lane is not intended for people going below 250 kph. Source: The Mercedes/BMW/Porsche that has been tailgating me and honking at me for going 200 kph only.
  
  Got nothing to do with Rechtsfahrgebot. Just means you gotta drive on the right most lane unless there is a proper reason. If someone behind you is going 200 they gotta break

Bit of both actually, the way that Germans drive is kind of an example for the rest of Europe. I'm sure that high fines have a lot to do with it but many of the best driving habits in my country came from Germany.
- The fines are low compared to where I live. One of the precious pictures of my wife is her getting cought speeding in Germany and realizing it at the same time.
  Can't stop laughing everytime I look at the picture they sent us with the speeding ticket.
  It was surely worth the 15 euro fine.
  
  Speeding fines are cheap. Road tax in a sense.
  But if you get into an accident, the fines multiply very fast.
  If an accident is caused by the winter tire violation, the guilty must pay a 120 Euro fine in addition to other applicable allegations of the accident.
  Killing an animal with your car, you'll be fined the cost of the animals life.
  If you damage a tree by crashing into it, you also have to pay for the replacement of the tree.
  You can be fined for tailgating above 80km/h.
  It's also illegal to run out of gas on the Autobahn.
  It's illegal to leave your car unlocked.
  List goes on and on, but I've actually never seen many enforced (aside from paying for the tree, it was nearly 2.5k per tree)
- Exactly. I drive quite a bit between countries, and even Austria is worse than Germany. And any more east to that is just Mad Max.

So it's a good time to say it once more, a lot of this is based on myths, not knowledge.
Having no speed limit is a really bad thing for both the environnement AND for public safety.
https://www.datawrapper.de/blog/the-case-for-speed-limits and so many more examples.
- You're preaching to the choir.
- But what about my freedom?

Is it working better for the rest of the world?
- Germany has fewer than average road fatalities than most of the world. Less than average in Europe too.
  It's not really statistically noticable in that regard. Not the best, but far from the worst.
  
  Could be better still. Also fewer pollution.
  
  Probably still better than those biways and highways that go through towns here in the US.
  Fuck you the speed limit just went from 75 MPH down to 35 MPH, the local up his own ass cop is already behind you. Eat shit.
  
  I'm sorry but this is cherry picking.
  https://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/tempolimit-koennte-jaehrlich-bis-zu-140-todesfaelle-verhindern-a-1254504.html
- Asking the real questions.

germans: famous for their hating the rules
- Well, the rules in place are kept. The point is that there is no general tempo limit

here it's more like follow the speed limit except for when a bicycle is ahead of you. you bike behind a car and they will obey the school zone limit. you bike over the limit ahead of them and they will speed to pass you and kill a child for bonus points.
- Oh man I feel that one. I ride my bike fast. Like usually around 28 km/h. But some drivers get downright agressive, and really need to get past me especially when the need to turn into a habitation area in 100 meters.

Germans any other time: obey the rule no matter how bad
- If there is no rule to obey there is no problem. But the majority of Germans (60 percent was the last number I heard) is actually for the introduction of a speed limit.
  But this topic is kind of like discussions about gun laws in the US. So hardly any party picks it up. Especially not the current government parties.

If only

Well it's nice not to have a speed limit, but every time I see one, it's such a sigh of relief.
Story time:
Not so long ago, I was on that 4 or 5 lane autobahn before arriving to Munich. I was already dark, overtaking some car, leaving the most left line empty. Then these laser high beams basically illuminating the nearby Alps. I was thinking geez I'm doing 160, relax dude, you have a free lane here. I moved to the right, 2 lanes to my left are now free. Car flies by me, doing probably like 50-70 more than I, AND, AND this guy gets overtaken by another one with about the same speed difference relative to the guy doing 210-230.
- Which is probably why they were freaking out trying to get you to move. Don't get me wrong it's been fun when I drove the autobahns as a tourist trying my best to respect the unwritten (and written) rules, and pushing my car like I can't do elsewhere, but god damn was it bad for my blood pressure!

https://youtu.be/5KiC03_wVjc

Autobahn: Like the high sea, but for cars