Germany Traffic
Germany Traffic
Going on holiday to Germany is a great outlook. Below you will find information about busy roads, bottlenecks, border crossings, traffic calendars, alternative routes, peak days / hours etc.
Traffic in winter
Busy roads
With snow it is busy on the roads during the weekends to the ski areas in the Sauerland, especially on the following routes:
- A445 Werl – Bestwig.
- B480 Brilon – Winterberg – Bad Berleburg.
- B251 Brilon – Willingen – Korbach.
- A46 Meschede – connection with B7.
Peak hours
- Direction of winter sports areas: Fri from 1 pm to 8 pm and Sat from 9 am to 3 pm.
- From winter sports areas: Sat from 11 am to 6 pm and so from 2 pm to 8 pm.
Traffic information Germany
Phone
- German-language traffic information is available from the Westdeutsche Rundfunk via tel. 0221 16 80 30 50.
Radio
- DeutschlandFunk (DLF) broadcasts national traffic information 24 hours a day, every hour after the news broadcasts. The correct frequencies can be found on dradio.de.
Internet
- Traffic information from the ADAC: verkehrsinfo.de.
- Overview of German motorways: autobahn-online.de.
Traffic crowds
In the summer period a large part of the holiday traffic in Germany is in transit to Scandinavia or to the south. All those tourists in transit mainly cause a lot of traffic jams on Fridays and Saturdays. It is not uncommon for traffic jams to occur with a length of more than 50 kilometers.
The best days to travel are often Thursday and Sunday.
Busy roads
- A1 Osnabrück – Hamburg – Lübeck – Fehmarn. Bottlenecks at Bremen and Hamburg.
- A3 Cologne – Frankfurt – Nuremberg. Bottlenecks at Würzburg and Nuremberg.
- A5 Karlsruhe – Heidelberg – Basel. Bottlenecks at Karlsruhe, Heidelberg and Weil am Rhein.
- A7 Würzburg – Ulm – Füssen. Bottleneck between Kempten and Füssen.
- A7 Hamburg – Flensburg. Bottleneck at Hamburg.
- A7 Kempten – Füssen.
- A8 Karlsruhe – Munich – Salzburg. Bottlenecks between Stuttgart and Ulm, between Günzburg (near Ulm) and Augsburg and between Munich and Salzburg.
- A9 Nuremberg – Munich. Bottleneck between Ingolstadt and Munich.
- A61 Mönchengladbach – Koblenz.
- A99 bypass Munich.
Busy border crossings
With Austria
- Suben (A8).
- Salzburg Walserberg (A1).
- Kufstein (A12).
- Grenstunnel Füssen (B179)
With Switzerland
- Basel.
- Thayngen / Schaffhausen.
- Konstanz / Kreuzlingen.
Alternative routes
Delays or traffic jams on the Autobahn can be avoided via U-routes. For this there are blue signs along the road with a ‘U’ (Umleitung), an arrow and a number. They usually lead to the next entrance or exit. The diversion route can be extended by following the even numbers from east to west (or vice versa) and the odd numbers from north to south (or vice versa).
New roads
- A1
- Fehmarn – Rødby, Fehmarnbelttunnel (20 km). Completion mid 2029. femern.com
- A26
-
- Exit Buxtehude – exit Jork (5 km). Delivery date unknown.
- A44
-
- Autobahnkreuz Ratingen-Ost (A3) – exit Heiligenhaus (4 km). Delivery unknown.
- A94
-
- Exit Malching-Ost- exit Kirchham (6 km). Completion end of 2026.
- A98
-
- Autobahndreieeck Hochrhein – exit Rheinfelden-Karsau (3 km). Delivery date unknown.
- A281
-
- Exit Bremen-Airportstadt – exit Bremen-Kattenturm (2 km). Delivery date unknown.
- A448
-
- Exit Bochum-Süd (Königsallee) – exit Bochum-Altenbochum (Marktstraße) (4 km). Delivered in August 2021.
- B6n
-
- Köthen-Ost – Autobahnkreuz Wolfen (A9) (15 km). Delivery date unknown.
Construction works
- In Germany, many routes are under construction. The main through roads where work takes place are the A1, A2, A3, A5, A7, A8, A30 and A61.
- For a complete and current overview with a map of all activities, adac.de/verkehr. Click on ‘Aktuelle Verkehrslage’ and tick the option ‘Baustellen’.
mountain passes
- Detailed data and current information about the opening of mountain passes in Germany and other countries can be found at alpenpaesse.de.
Driving ban trucks
- In Germany, on Sundays and public holidays, a driving ban of 0-22 hours applies to commercial vehicles with a permitted maximum mass of more than 7500 kg and to all commercial vehicles (regardless of weight) that tow a trailer.
- This driving ban also applies on all Saturdays in July and August from 7 am to 8 pm on certain sections of motorways and some national roads. Driving is allowed again from 20-24, but the Sunday driving ban applies from 0 a.m.
- These driving bans only apply to journeys for the transport of goods for business purposes and not to private journeys for sporting or recreational purposes. The driving bans therefore do not apply to, for example, a motorhome, a company car with a caravan or folding trailer behind it or a delivery van pulling a horse trailer and on its way to a show jumping competition.
Breakdown
Safety first
- Stop in a safe place – If possible, stop to the right in the roadside or on the emergency lane as far as possible (make sure there is enough space to turn right). Turn your front wheels towards the verge or crash barrier.
- Turn on your hazard lights – Have the warning lights on your car flash and also leave it on after the warning triangle has been placed. Vehicles with a permitted maximum mass of more than 3500 kg must also place a portable yellow flashing light on the roof in the dark or in poor visibility.
- Put on a safety vest – Before leaving the car, put on a safety vest and let your passengers put on a vest. In Germany, the use of a safety vest is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended. (In German cars at least one safety vest must be present.) Motorcyclists and their passengers are also advised to wear a safety vest.
- Get out of the car – Carefully get out, and also get all passengers off, on the side where no traffic is driving and find a safe place behind the crash barrier or on the roadside. Never cross a motorway.
- Place a warning triangle – In the event of a breakdown or an accident, a warning triangle must be placed behind the car (even if the hazard warning lights are switched on). This does not apply to an engine. On car (fast) roads you must place the warning triangle at least 200 m behind the car. On other roads outside the built-up area you must place the warning triangle at least 100 m and within the built-up area at least 50 m behind the car.
Repairing yourself
It is not forbidden in Germany to repair your vehicle along the road. It is legally forbidden to put the other traffic at risk, for example by walking on the carriageway of a motorway. It is also very dangerous to walk on the emergency lane of an Autobahn or other highway, for example to change a tire or to replace a lamp. You are therefore strongly advised to always call in the assistance of the roadside assistance.
Towing
- Towing is permitted up to the nearest garage.
- Towing the Autobahn (motorway) is allowed until the first exit at the latest.
- A vehicle towing on the motorway is forbidden.
- The tow rope or bar must be a maximum of 5 m long and marked with a red flag in the middle.
- Both towing and towed vehicles must have hazard lights. Note: If the warning lights of the vehicle to be towed do not work, the vehicle may not be towed by private individuals.
- It is recommended not to drive faster than 40 km / h when towing.
Accident
- Call the emergency number 112 – In the event of an accident that has caused significant damage or personal injury, call the emergency number 112. You are obliged to call in the event of personal injury. In the event of a collision with only limited eye damage in Germany, it is sufficient to exchange data. However, if you are involved as a foreigner in such a collision, you are advised to always call the police at number 110.
- Do not leave the scene of the accident – It is forbidden and punishable to leave the scene of the accident without helping any injured persons and to exchange information.
- Providing first aid – If you are involved in an accident, you are obliged in Germany to provide assistance to persons who are injured to the extent that you are capable of doing so and can do so without endangering yourself or others.
- Exchange data – All involved in an accident are obliged to exchange their personal data and insurance details.