Per David Johnson:
I've driven on-and-off in Germany occasionally for the past 30-some years. Haven't been over there in the last 10 - and maybe it's all changed because of the European Union....and I don't speak German to boot.
Having said that, what I perceive from experience is that there seem to be only a few rules:
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1) Always yield the hammer lane to closing traffic. If they have to slow down, you didn't yield soon enough - and you'll definitely know when that happens. 2) Always, under all circumstances, without any exceptions use your turn signal when crossing any sort of white line. If a truck is parked partially on the traffic lane going through a town, you'll see car after car put on their left turn signal as they straddle the center line to pass it. Turning it on as you cross the line isn't good enough. It has to be blinking before you initiate your move. 3) Never, ever, under any circumstances pass on the right. This greatly facilitates adherence to #1. 4) When coming off an onramp, look for an opening, downshift, and come off pedal-to-the-metal. (that's almost verbatim from the English translation of my 80-some-year-old father-in-law's admonition...)------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of my other relatives confirms the claim of fewer accidents (lower death rate by his version) on the German autobahns than USA's limited-access roads.
I find this even more impressive when I realize that not only are people routinely exceeding 100 mph - with the crazies doing 150+ in Porsches - but many of them are driving *very* small (i.e. not particularly crashworthy) vehicles AND all that is going on in the context of triple tractor trailers pulling out to pass at 35-45 mph.
As far as attention to driving goes... I've watched a 25-year-old nephew literally sweat while driving. I suspect that drunk driving there is not much of an issue because anybody who drove drunk would have an exceedingly short life expectancy.