Check the validity of your driver's license. Americans, Australians and EU member country driver's licenses are all recognized in Germany. If you do not have a valid license from one of these countries, apply for an international driver's license before you arrive in Germany.
Keep your insurance paperwork in the car. If you are renting a car in Germany, keep the insurance information with you whenever you are driving; if the car is registered in another EU state, check to make sure the insurance will cover you in Germany the same way it would at home.
Read through a German motorist's handbook at a rest stop or an online guide, like the one in the Resources, before driving in Germany. Familiarize yourself with common road signs and words.
Keep to the right when driving on highways unless you are passing someone. Unlike in the United States, where vehicles averaging a faster speed might cruise in the left lanes, German laws require that all cars pass other vehicles on the left and that vehicles do not move to the left unless they are passing.
Be cautious on the German autobahn. The lack of a speed limit requires all drivers to be vigilant in watching for other cars and especially careful when changing lanes. The recommended maximum speed is 130 kilometers per hour on the autobahn and 50 kilometers per hour in cities.
Look for even-numbered autobahn routes if you want to travel east to west and odd-numbered routes for north to south travel.
