As a densely populated country in a central location in Europe and with a developed economy, Germany has a dense transport infrastructure.
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed, expressed as kilometres per hour (km/h) or miles per hour (mph) or both. Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of national or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional police and judicial authorities. Speed limits may also be variable, or in some places nonexistent, such as on most of the Autobahnen in Germany.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
The Autobahn is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is Bundesautobahn, which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word Bundesautobahn is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Bundesautobahn 2 is an autobahn in Germany that connects the Ruhr area in the west to Berlin in the east. The A 2 starts at the junction with the A3 near the western city of Oberhausen, passes through the north of the Ruhr valley, through the Münsterland and into Ostwestfalen, crossing the former inner German border and continuing through the Magdeburger Börde to merge into the Berliner Ring shortly before reaching Berlin. Major cities such as Magdeburg, Braunschweig, Hannover and Dortmund are situated very close to the A 2. The A 2 is one of the most important autobahns, connecting several large industrial areas with each other.
Bundesautobahn 3 is an autobahn in Germany running from the Germany-Netherlands border near Wesel in the northwest to the Germany-Austria border near Passau.
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic.
The ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club, is Europe's largest automobile association. The ADAC is the largest verein (club) in Germany, with around 21 million members. Its headquarters are located in Munich. Its original and most well-known service is roadside assistance.
Bundesautobahn 30 is a highway in northwestern Germany. It runs from west to east, starting at the Dutch border. On the border it connects with the Dutch A1 motorway, hence, the A 30 is part of the important European connection Berlin – Amsterdam. It is an important connection from Hannover and Minden to Osnabrück, Münster and the Netherlands, and part of European Route E 30.
Bundesautobahn 999 was the designated number for the Mittlerer Ring in Munich, Germany, a projected second ring road around the inner city districts to accompany the Münchner Ring (Bundesautobahn 99). The project to construct the Mittlerer Ring as an autobahn was not carried out, instead the Bundesstraße 2R now covers most of the planned A 999 trajectory.
Bundesstraße, abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
The Austrian autobahns are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A (Bundesautobahnen) under the authority of the Federal Government according to the Austrian Federal Road Act (Bundesstraßengesetz), not to be confused with the former Bundesstraßen highways maintained by the Austrian states since 2002.
Switzerland has a two-class highway system: motorways with separated roads for oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph), and expressways often with oncoming traffic and a standard maximal speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
This article describes the highway systems available in selected countries.
Speed limits in Germany are set by the federal government. All limits are multiples of 10 km/h. There are two default speed limits: 50 km/h (31 mph) inside built-up areas and 100 km/h (62 mph) outside built-up areas. While parts of the autobahns and many other freeway-style highways have posted limits up to 130 km/h (81 mph) based on accident experience, congestion and other factors, many rural sections have no general speed limit. The Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) section on speed begins with the requirement which may be rendered in English:
Any person driving a vehicle may only drive so fast that the car is under control. Speeds must be adapted to the road, traffic, visibility and weather conditions as well as the personal skills and characteristics of the vehicle and load.
Traffic signs, installations, and symbols used in Germany are prescribed by the Road Traffic Regulation (StVO) and the Traffic Signs Catalog (VzKat).
The Verein zur Vorbereitung der Autostraße Hansestädte–Frankfurt–Basel, commonly referred to as HaFraBa, was an organization dedicated to developing one of the first large Autobahn projects in Germany.
A tourist sign, often referred to as a brown sign, is a traffic sign whose purpose is to direct visitors to tourist destinations, such as historic buildings, tourist regions, caravan or camp sites, picnic areas, sporting facilities or museums. By international convention brown signs with white lettering and white pictograms are often used for this purpose.
The Reichsautobahn system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highways in Germany under the Weimar Republic, and two had been constructed, but work had yet to start on long-distance highways. After previously opposing plans for a highway network, the Nazis embraced them after coming to power and presented the project as Hitler's own idea. They were termed "Adolf Hitler's roads" and presented as a major contribution to the reduction of unemployment. Other reasons for the project included enabling Germans to explore and appreciate their country, and there was a strong aesthetic element to the execution of the project under the Third Reich; military applications, although to a lesser extent than has often been thought; a permanent monument to the Third Reich, often compared to the pyramids; and general promotion of motoring as a modernization that in itself had military applications.
The Wiener Außenring Autobahn A 21 is a motorway in Austria and part of the European route E60. It connects the West Autobahn at the Steinhäusl interchange with the Süd Autobahn at the Vösendorf interchange, where it continues as the Wiener Außenring Schnellstraße.
