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Cyclists: Germany is a very green country, and the German government has made a great push to make their cities cycle friendly. This primarily involves reconfiguring city infrastructure to make space for bike lanes on roads. Granted, this is fabulous for cyclists, and for the environment; however, for drivers, it adds another hazard they need to look out for, particularly when turning right into a side street. Quite recently, some cities have even banished cars from their city centres, in a bid to go completely car-free.

The Autobahn: The thing to remember is that, on German motorways, speed is king. In other words, the one who drives the fastest has the right of way. Many drivers take this as a welcoming carte blanche, and you will inevitably see German cars whizzing past you at phenomenal speeds. But to many others, this can be quite an ordeal, particularly when someone is sitting right on your proverbial arise, wanting to pass. The thing to remember is that the yield rule applies to the middle lane too, so if somebody is driving faster than you in the middle lane, you are expected to yield into the outer lane. Remember, hogging the middle lane is frowned upon by Germans, and you will most likely feel their sentiment by seeing the front bumper of their car up close in your rearview mirror.

Turning left at junctions: Probably the most confusing and frightening experience that you’ll have as a driver in Germany is turning left at a junction. To understand why, you’ll need to firstly get a bit of background information on Germany. Whereas the Anglo Saxons solved the junction problem with roundabouts, the Germans were relatively late to incorporate this concept into their traffic system. What you’ll more commonly find is the so-called square box — basically, an intersection involving people travelling in four different directions. To turn left, a car must proceed to the middle of the junction, turn left slightly, and then wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic that allows them to turn into the adjacent road. The thing that makes many drivers a little uncomfortable: anyone in the oncoming traffic who wants to turn left will basically do the same as you, effectively stopping head-to-head with your car.

Driving in cities: If you want to put your driving skills to the ultimate test, then Berlin is the place to be. No other city in Germany is so chaotic and unpredictable as the capital. As a driver, you need to be constantly vigilant and aware of everything happening around you. This includes roadworks, traffic lights, changing lanes, turning left at road junctions, pedestrians, suicide cyclists, and, as if that isn’t enough, you also need to look out for Turkish BMW drivers.5

Conclusion: Despite crazy speeds on Autobahns, Germans take their road safety very seriously, enjoying some of the lowest accident rates in Europe. You might think the drivers are rude and impatient for honking at you, but that’s just a German thing. In reality, drivers tend to be very courteous, always letting you into the main lane, and patiently waiting for you while you’re trying to parallel park on a busy street. They follow the rules to the letter of the law — hardly surprising — and they expect the same of you, or else they will blow their German horn at you. Have a nice drive.

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5 This is a local saying, if a little xenophobic. It refers to young inexperienced drivers full of testosterone, usually of migrational background, ragging the hell out of top range BMWs.