Driving in Germany:

Driving in Germany is wonderful, and that doesn't even have anything to do with the speed limit on the Autobahn (although I'll get into that later).

If I were forced to come up with a motto for my life, it would probably be something along the lines of "I hate stupid people." I've probably used that phrase more often than any other phrase, and it all too frequently gets used while I'm driving - oddly enough, not in Germany though.

To get your license in Germany (as a native German), there's extended (and expensive) training that you have to go through which insures that most drivers over here are competent, at the very least. There's actually a principle that's used in German traffic courts called "The Doctrine of Confidence:"

The basic premise of German traffic law is the "doctrine of confidence", which in effect says that motorists must be alert, obey the law, and drive defensively at all times so that all motorists and other road users (including pedestrians) can have confidence in each other. Motorists must be especially alert for and anticipate the actions of elderly or disabled pedestrians or children, all of whom are exempt from the doctrine of confidence. All road users must act to prevent endangering, hindering, and unreasonably inconveniencing other road users.

Basically, to drive over here, you have to know what you're doing. There's very little passive aggressive behavior, merge situations just work, traffic circles make sense, people obey the speed limits - in short, everything just works.

Just for your car to qualify for registration, it has to be inspected - they know that your car will be driving fast, and your car has to be roadworthy for them to pass it. We haven't seen many beaters driving around over here - they probably wouldn't be able to pass the inspection.

You're required to have some specific safety equipment in your car at all times (or you won't pass the inspection): a first aid kit, an emergency marker that you have to put on the road if you break down, and a safety vest that you're required to wear if you're outside your car when it's broken down. In some countries over here, you have to have a safety vest for every passenger in the car.

There's no such thing as 'right on red' - it's simply not a thing. No one will honk. Everybody knows to just sit and wait, so no one gets upset about it.

Speaking of stoplights... when you're sitting at a red light, right before it turns green, the yellow light illuminates, so for a few seconds the red and yellow are both lit - then the red and yellow go out and the green lights up. Some people start moving shortly after the yellow lights up, entering the intersection as the green illuminates.

Turn lanes are a bit weird. Once you're in a dedicated turn lane, it's assumed (hopefully correctly) that you're turning, so there's no need for your blinker to be on while you're sitting waiting for the light. Occasionally you'll see someone sitting in a turn only lane with their blinker on, but the overwhelming majority of cars won't.

Crosswalks are absolutely sacrosanct. If someone is attempting to cross the street at a crosswalk (assuming that the crossing isn't at a stoplight), all traffic stops for them. 

While traffic circles are becoming more common in the states, you'll still see quite a bit of confusion when you encounter one. Generally, if you're in a traffic circle, you have precedence over someone entering the circle. That's the same all over the world. There are a couple of differences over here: everyone knows how to use them, and when you're exiting a traffic circle, you use your turn signal. That simple act tells anyone waiting to enter the circle that you're exiting, and it's safe for them to enter. That minor act makes a major difference.

There are additional differences, but those are the major ones - on local roads. Now, we move on to...

The Autobahn

 (Bolded and underlined because this is the fun part!)

The autobahn does have speed limits, and most everyone pays attention to them. In stretches where there are a lot of cars entering and exiting, you'll see signs decreasing the speed limit to 120kmh (about 72mph), then 100kph (about 60mph), sometimes as low as 80kph (about 48mph), then the speed limit will either increase gradually, or you'll see the most beautiful sign in the world.

This is the most beautiful sign in the world. Fight me.

What this sign means (effectively) is: "Go for it."

Technically, what it means is "This is the end of the last restrictions put in place." Those restrictions could be "No Passing," or "No Trucks in Left Lane," but where you'll see this sign the most is to end a speed limit. Drive SAFELY as fast as you'd like. 

If you're going faster than someone else, pass them on the left. Only. Never, never, never pass on the right. Except in one circumstance (I'll get into a little later).

Stay out of the left lane (generally) unless you're passing, but regardless, if someone's coming up behind you, move to the right to allow them to pass.

The only time you're allowed to pass on the right (under real highway conditions) is if you're in a marked exit lane. Then, you're allowed to pass people on the right. Other than that, this specific rule is written in stone.

Changing lanes and merging is quite simple - not like in the states at all. People switch lanes to allow you space to get on, or subtly speed up or slow down to create space for people to move in and out as they need to. There seems to be no passive aggressiveness on the roads over here, and very little tailgating. People do what they need to do, and other people let them. The other side of that, is that you have to let others do what they need to do to uphold your side of the equation. 

It's very rare to see someone broken down on the side of the road - not unheard of, but rare nonetheless. Running out of gas on the autobahn is frowned upon, so much so that you can get a citation for it - you should have been better prepared.

What happens when there are accidents on the autobahn? Bad stuff. When there are accidents, the accidents are pretty bad - bad enough that several emergency vehicles will usually respond. How do those emergency vehicles get to the scene? When traffic has stopped, law dictates that drivers create something called "rettungsgasse," literally "rescue lane." Traffic in the left hand lane scooches way over onto the left shoulder, traffic in the right-most lane scooches way over on the right shoulder, then every other lane scooches over to the right as tightly as they can, leaving an oversized lane between the fast lane and all the other lanes. Then, you put it in park and patiently wait. Emergency vehicles use this newly created lane to get through to the scene of the accident.  Eventually, traffic will slowly move, allowing everyone to switch lanes to whichever side to get around the scene. 

It all goes back to the "doctrine of confidence," and loosely ties in with what we taught our kids when they were learning to drive: "Be predictable." If everyone is following the rules, then every driver can predict what every other driver will do. Know the rules, follow the rules, everyone will get along just fine on the roads.