Autobahn

The Autobahn is a famous network of highways in Germany.

These are called controlled-access highways. This means they are designed only for motor vehicles. To use them, a vehicle must have a top speed higher than 60 km/h. Most of these roads have many lanes for traffic.

A central barrier stays between the lanes to keep traffic safe. Most exits are located on the right side of the road. On many parts of the system, there is no legal speed limit. However, there is an advisory speed limit of 130 km/h.

This is a suggested speed that drivers should follow. In some areas, like cities or construction zones, permanent speed limits are enforced.

Driving on the Autobahn works in a very organized way.

The roads have many lanes in each direction to move cars quickly. A central barrier separates the two sides of the road. Drivers can enter or leave the highway through special junctions. Most exits are on the right to keep traffic flowing. In the past, the roads had narrow shoulders for emergencies. Later, engineers made these shoulders wider to 2.5 meters. This gives drivers more space to pull off safely. In the postwar years, builders used thicker asphaltic concrete. This helped make the roads strong enough for heavy use.

People have been planning these roads for a long time.

The idea for a car-only road began in the mid-1920s. One group called HaFraBa wanted to build a road from Hamburg to Basel. The first public road of this kind opened in 1932. It ran between Cologne and Bonn.

This road is known today as the Bundesautobahn 555. Later, in the 1930s, the government began a huge building project. This project was called the Reichsautobahn. By 1936, about 130,000 workers were helping to build the roads. Many people were also working in the supply chain for steel and concrete.

Germany uses a specific numbering system for its highways.

This system was introduced in 1974. Every highway starts with the letter A for Autobahn. Main roads that cross the whole country have one digit.

Regional roads use two digits, like the A 24. Very short local roads use three digits. Even numbers are used for roads that go east to west. Odd numbers are for roads that go north to south.

North-south roads are numbered from west to east. This means roads further east have higher numbers.

Understanding the Autobahn helps you see how modern travel works.

It is different from a regular street because of its high speeds. In 2006, cars on a six-lane section in Brandenburg averaged 150 km/h. This shows how fast the system can move. The Autobahn is also different from other roads in Germany. Other highways might have yellow signs instead of blue ones. These are often called "yellow autobahns" by local people. Even though they look similar, they are not part of the official Autobahn network. The Autobahn remains a very important part of how people move in Germany.