Germany traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

Germany traffic rules and self driving car rental tips | QEEQ

The complete Germany driving and rental guide

Whether for leisure or daily use, driving is very popular in Germany, which is said to feature the most well-established and fast Autobahns. However, not all motorways in Germany have unlimited speed restrictions. You are allowed to drive as fast as the circumstances allows on 50% of the motorways, while for the other half are limited from 80 to 130 km/h, which are enforced.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs
Driving in Germany is on the right side of the road. On Autobahns, one must take the right lane and overtake from the left.
- Speed Limit
  There is a speed limit of 50 km/h in rural areas and 100 km/h in built-up areas. Recommended maximum speed on motorways is 130 km/h.
- Traffic Signs
  German traffic signs can be classified into 4 types: regulatory, warning, information and direction signs.
  
  Warning Signs
  Warning signs are in red triangle shape with a few exceptions.
  Bumpy Road Level Crossing Pedestrians Children Crossing Wild Animals Crossing
  
  Regulatory Signs
  German regulatory signs mostly feature circular shape with a red border, with some exceptions.
  Give Way Stop and Give Way No U-Turn No Overtaking No Passenger Car
  
  Information Signs
  Information signs normally feature a square shape as well as blue background, with some other exceptions.
  First Aid or Hospital Car Park, Parking Garage Toll Road Stop-Customs
  
  Direction Signs
  German direction signs mostly feature a blue or yellow background and markings with location signs, route number information and distance.
  Motorway Junction Sign to Service Area Signpost at Junction Leading Onto a Minor Road Diversion Sign End of Diversion
  Take a further step to read more useful information regarding Germany traffic signs here.
Seatbelt and Child Safety
- Seatbelt Laws
  The driver and all passengers are required by law to wear seatbelts if the car is underway. Failing to do so will incur an on-the-spot fine of €30.
- Booster Seat Laws
  Children over 150cm tall can sit in the front of the car. Younger ones will require appropriate restraints in the rear. Note that a baby must be seated in a baby seat facing backwards in the front passenger seat, and the front airbag must be disabled. If the child seat is not set properly, a fine of €60 will be imposed.
Parking, Fuel and Toll
- Parking
  · Permitted Parking
  
  Drivers are allowed to park when a “Parkschein” can be found, and can pay the related parking fee to a parking machine. Insert coins to pay for the amount of time you wish to keep your parking spot. then place your ticket on the car’s dashboard in plain sight.
  (Image from hiveminer.com)
  
  · Permitted Parking
  
  In Germany, you are considered "parked" if you leave your vehicle or if you stop/stand for longer than 3 minutes, unless you are actively boarding or discharging passengers or loading/unloading cargo.
  
  You may not park in the following spots:
  
  - Within 5 metres on either side of an intersection
  
  - In front of driveway entrances or exits, or on the opposite side of the street
  
  - If the roadway is too narrow to allow vehicles to enter or exit the driveway
  
  - If parking will obstruct the use of marked parking places
  
  - Within 15 metres on either side of a bus or streetcar stop marked with a green H-sign with yellow background
  
  - Within 50 metres on either side of a white X-sign with red poles when outside of urban areas or within 5 metres when inside an urban area
  
  - On a priority road outside of urban areas
  
  - In front of a curb-cut or wheelchair ramp
  
  - Adjacent to a traffic island or median
  
  - On the street side of another parked vehicle ("double parked")
  
  - On a marked bike lane - Anywhere there is a “No Parking” sign on the same side of the street
  
  Parking in forbidden areas will result in a parking fine that generally ranges from €5 to €25.
- Fuel Prices
  The average value for Germany gasoline price is €1.39 in January 2018 while diesel is €1.16.
- Toll
  Unlike trucks, passenger car can drive the Autobahn without toll fee.
  
  However, cross a border into neighbouring countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Czech Republic will require purchasing a vignette that should be stuck on the car’s windshield. Make sure you let the car hire company know if you are planning to drive your vehicle outside Germany, and double-check at the counter whether the rented vehicle features the relevant vignette.
Traffic Violation
- DUI Laws
  Drivers with more than 2 years' experience are charged with a fine if found driving with 0.05% BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) or with 0.03% in conjunction with any other traffic offences or accidents.
- Traffic Fines
  There are traffic signs indicating a speed limit at many street sections. Drivers who are speeding in Germany may be caught by a speed trap and the fine ranges from €15 to €680 in town and €10 to €600 outside towns.
  （Image from ksta.de)
  
  Travellers renting a car in Germany may receive billing details from their credit cards indicating that a certain amount has been debited, mainly because they have been found guilty of speed driving or prohibited parking. You can always contact QEEQ' 24/7 customer service team for clarifications on such cases.
Driving Licence and Age Requirements
Foreigners on short-term visit may rent a car and drive with a valid foreign driving licence for up to 6 months in Germany. All licences issued by the European Union are accepted. To drive in Germany, the driver must present a valid national driving licence that has been held for at least 1 or 2 years (according to different car hire companies).

You must be at least 18 years old to hire a car in Germany, and age may vary by car category.
Read more details

*Please be aware that rules are subject to change. QEEQ.COM will try the best to maintain the accuracy of this information.

Guest reviews

Budget
9 - "The car is clean and good and the staff are comfortable dealing with it"
Buchbinder
10 - "Alles gut"
Enterprise
9.7 - "Always friendly and helpful"
Europcar
10 - "THANKS"
Wheego
8 - "The location is not clear I spent a lot of time to reach to their office even after asking information staff "
Buchbinder
6.7 - "Car was partially ok. Staf at Europcar (who cover Bucbinder) were very unpleasant. Would not like to deal with them again."
Flex To Go
10 - "Didn't have the answer automatic as ordered, but upgraded to a different car."
Alamo
9.7 - "The car was excellent but the front desk tried to upsell the insurance (I declined). The child car seat provided was old and instructions to install were not clear. "
National
8.7 - "Poor. No petrol cars only an electric with 50% charge. “No charger” claimed. When I picked up the car a charger was right next to it. They couldn’t be bothered. Range supposedly 158 kms for a 194km journey. Rubbish it lasted 60 1/2 hour wait and I supposedly had 170 again it fell so fast (no heater no radio in eco mode) I had to stop for another 1/2 hour and by the time I reached the airport I had 16 left. Awful. "
Wheego
7.3 - "They gave me a car that needs service (at least 70 days past). I E-mailed customer service but never get a respond. "
Keddy by Europcar
7.7 - "On pick up we were charged an extra 100 euro Unsure of why but were told this would be refunded within days of car return.Still no refund 4 weeks later despite phone calls and emails to car hire company "
OK Mobility
8 - "Location was very confusing. There are no sign about "Shuttles". OK Mobility does not know your COMPANY QEEQ. OK Mobility applied a surprise deposit that I have never been notified about this amount(1350 euro). It was to enforce to accept their insurance. I had to pay extra 250 euro as my credit card limit was insufficient at that time. "
OK Mobility
9 - "The car was a great fit. We got an MG SUV instead of the NISSAN and I'm glad we did. Everything worked as expected and there was a lot of room for luggage in the back. My biggest complaint is that we wanted to pick up the car 45 minutes early due to an early arrival and the rental agent wanted to charge us 50 Euros. The car was already ready to go, so I'm not sure why we'd be charged extra. He ended up reducing this fee for us and I'm grateful, but I'm not sure why we needed to be charged for such a small shift in pick up time. Additionally, I was told by the agent that I'd need a sticker (vignette) for driving across the border into Luxembourg. I spent time stopping and asking about this only to find our that this is needed only for commercial trucks. OVERALL, the pickup was easy and the entire rental experience went smoothly. "
Hertz
10 - "I told the staff that I had to go to Switzerland and paid Euro 35 for travelling accross the border. I understood that part and paid. I was told the car had most likely the required sticker for going across the border, which it did not have and I paid Euro 40 at the border. When I returned the car I was told I had to pay an addional 52 Euro border fees, which was all in all very disappointing as my currency is South African Rands which is x 20 in other words I had to pay R 1840 in addion which is a lot for me !"
Europcar
10 - "Thanks for free upgrading and concern of drop off place"
Wheego
6.3 - "처음 계약한 차종과 다른 것은 상관 없었으나 사고차량으로 문짝이 많이 찌그러져 있고 앞뒤 스크래치가 많이 심함. 연락되기까지 시간이 많이걸림. 나중에는 이미 알고 있다고 했고 남은 차종이 없어서 그렇다고 했음. 차 성능은 괜찮았음. 직원들과 연락은 어려웠으나 친절히 설명은 잘해 줌."
Dollar
10 - "Flawless experience, very smooth and exactly how it should be"
Europcar
10 - "excellent"
Enterprise
10 - "Given new car!"
Hertz
10 - "Good and quick"
Europcar
9.3 - "El coche muy bien, además de ser un modelo superior al contratado. Gracias"
Wheego
10 - "Counter at terminal 1 was not crowded during this time of the year and easy to find The car was new VW TAIGO Medium SUV as expected. The staff at the counter was nice paper less."
Wheego
7.7 - "there was no windshield fluid in the vehicle. "
Alamo
5.7 - "After a small assessment, I was given an electro auto which was horrible and I needed to change after less than 24 hours. With the temperature in Frankfurt the battery does not last and the provided plug in the car for charging was a home one. It would have needed like 30 hrs for charging. "
AVIS
10 - "El coche ha estado muy bien pero hemos tenido difícultad a la hora de entregar el coche ya que la oficina estaba cerrada. "
Alamo
10 - "We got an amazing new cabrio instead of the ordered one. Enjoined so much :) "
Wheego
10 - "Excellent Service far more better than the other portals the best part of Wheego is they automatically adjust your price if gone lower, this is amazing"
Alamo
8.7 - "It was difficult to understand what Alamo were charging me as the amounts they blocked on my credit card did not correspond to my quote from Qeeq. In the end, what they charged me was correct."
Buchbinder
10 - "Recomended"
Keddy by Europcar
9.3 - "It all went very smoothly."
Budget
10 - "Great car and staff."
Wheego
9.7 - "todo muy facil y muy fluido. sin imprevistos sobre lo contratado"
Buchbinder
9.7 - "excellent service "
Buchbinder
9.7 - "We were very satisfied with both the booking process and the car itself. The vehicle was exactly what we ordered and the price was reasonable."
Alamo
7 - "The car was pretty old and knackered, and parked on the top floor of a multi-storey car park with limited lift access, so we had to carry heavy suitcases up the last few steps. The Alamo staff were friendly but there were some hidden catches (not allowed to take the cars on a ferry, for example). Drop-off very quick but I haven’t received any sort of receipt from them. "
AVIS
10 - "Todo estuvo bien"
Europcar
8.7 - "السعر مرتفع جدا"
OK Mobility
9.3 - "Great selection of vehicles. The MG SUV was a very high tech automobile. "
Europcar
7.7 - "I have reserved limousine class but got universal.. I have reserved bmw and got mersedes..."
Thrifty
7.7 - "additional charges were outrages! i was late for the pick up cause of canceled flight, delayed train ride etc. So first i was convinced it was their after working hours so i will be charged! then they have had some nicer cars where i can pick for an upgrade where i was charged 30% then realized they dont even have my prefred calls and would have to give me one of the upgrades anyway. then i was told they will wvae the addtional after hours service charge however what i see in my invoice is addtional charges and plus taxes on those charges... finally i pay more then the rental value that i paid to QeeQ to addtional service cahrges to rent the car! what is a service fee if your job is to supply a rental car? i will never ever pick a car from either Hertz or Thrifty! "
Europcar
8.3 - "This car is meet my expectations with a good guided of GPS. Thanks and appreciated!"
Buchbinder
10 - "Excellent. Car received as expected. We went skiing, needed to be towed in a place out of snow – Buchbinder support was excellent."
Enterprise
9.3 - "The car I booked was unavailable, and they tried to sell me a huge, 3-seater Transporter vehicle used for moving goods/homes. Completely unsuitable for a 1000km family trip. After 2 hours, we got a different car."
OK Mobility
9.7 - "New car and fast service"
Europcar
10 - "It was not the car we booked, but still very good car. We were very pleased with it. "
Keddy by Europcar
10 - "Easy collection and good value"
OK Mobility
10 - "Counter staff really helpful and no hard sell"
Europcar
10 - "Very good "
OK Mobility
6.3 - "Counter staff at Munich Airport was a bit slow with 3 staff members working and a queue over 60 minutes. It was incredibly difficult to find the counter due to location and lack of visible sign. "
Alamo
10 - "Fantastic service, great value, easy to pick up and drop off"

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Frequently asked questions

Q1.What is an insurance excess？
The excess is the amount you'll only be liable for in case of damage(under Collision Damage Waiver) or theft(under Theft Protection) of the vehicle.
Information about the excess will be clearly stated in the price inclusion when you reserve a car on QEEQ.
Q2. How can I add an addtional driver?
You are advised to make a request upon your arrival at the rental counter. Additional charge per day will incur unless '1 Additional Driver Included' is stipulated on the rental.
Please note that the same licence and age requirement applys to the additonal driver. The addtional driver is supposed to present the required licence document along with the main driver at pickup.
Q3.What if I want to pick up or drop off my rental car out of office hours?
QEEQ will show you the car offers available at your chosen time on the search results.
However, pick-up or drop-off out of general opening hours may subject to an extra fee unless self-service pick-up or drop-off is available.
After you reserve a car on QEEQ, we will inform you of specific policy of the car hire company by email.
Q4. Can I take the hired car to another country or cross border?
If you want to pick up your car in one country and drop it in another, your search results will show you cars you can do that with.
If you're planning to cross any borders during your trip, bear in mind:
1. You may have to pay more.
There are often extra fees, taxes or additional cover you'll pay at the car hire counter.
2.It may not be allowed.
Depending on where you're hiring, you may not be able to take your car to another country.
Please email us if you want to take your hire car into a different country during your trip, and we'll talk you through your options.
Q5. Can I pick up my car at one location and return it at different location?
Yes. You can pick up the vehicle in one place and drop it off in another. An ‘one-way fee’ will incur. Whether it is inclued in the rental price or what additional cost may arise will be clearly stated at the time of booking on QEEQ.
Please inform the car hire company of your drop-off location when you pick up the vehicle or contact them directly during your trip. You will find a phone number on the rental agreement you signed at pickup.

Any question? Just visit our Help Page.

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Germany Car Rentals

The complete Germany driving and rental guide

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Speed Limit

Traffic Signs

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

Booster Seat Laws

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

Fuel Prices

Toll

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

Traffic Fines

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

Guest reviews

Best car rental deals in Germany

Frequently asked questions

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