Theory topic 8 · Düsseldorf
Topic 8: Speed
How fast you drive decides more than anything else how safe you are, how much fuel you use and whether you get a fine. In topic 8 you learn to work out reaction, braking and stopping distances in your head, which speed limits apply in Germany, and how looking well ahead saves you fuel.
- In class
- 90 minutes, as often as you like
- This is topic 8 of 14. You can come to this double lesson as many times as you like.
- Flexible times
- 8 theory classes a week
- Lessons run on six days a week. The 14 topics follow on from each other in a loop, so you simply join at the next lesson.
- Three languages
- German, English, Arabic
- Lessons are taught in German. If something isn't clear, you can ask in English or Arabic.
What you learn
What topic 8 covers
This is what's on the plan in the lesson, and it's what the theory test (Theorieprüfung) will ask you about.
- The German speed limits in towns, outside towns and on the motorway
- How to work out reaction, braking and stopping distances with simple rules of thumb
- How to keep a safe gap with the two-second rule
- Why rain, snow and ice make your braking distance longer
- How speed, the force of an impact and the risk of injury are linked
- Which fines you can get for speeding
- How to save fuel and cut emissions, for example by changing up early and looking well ahead
The key rules
What you need to know for sure
A lot of the test questions on this topic come back to these points.
Speed limits in Germany
In towns the limit is 50 km/h, and many streets are 30 zones. On country roads outside towns, cars may do 100 km/h. Most motorways have no general upper limit, but there is an advisory speed (Richtgeschwindigkeit) of 130 km/h. BF17 drivers and drivers in their Probezeit (probationary period) have no extra speed limits, but for them the alcohol limit is 0.0 ‰.
Rule of thumb for reaction distance
Divide your speed by 10 and multiply by 3, and you have your reaction distance in metres. At 50 km/h that's 15 m, at 100 km/h it's 30 m. The formula assumes one second of reaction time, which is the moment of shock plus moving your foot onto the brake.
Rule of thumb for braking distance
Divide your speed by 10 and square the result. At 50 km/h that gives 25 m, at 100 km/h it gives 100 m. In an emergency stop the braking distance is roughly half of that (factor 0.5).
The two-second rule
In good conditions you keep at least two seconds behind the car in front. Pick a fixed point at the side of the road, such as a post or a tree. When the car in front passes it, count slowly: 'one thousand and one, one thousand and two'. If you reach the point before you've finished, you're too close. In the wet, double the gap.
Driving economically saves fuel
Change up early, let the car roll when you can see you'll have to slow down anyway, and use the engine to brake. Only switch the air conditioning on when you need it, and take the roof rack off when you're not using it. You save fuel and money, and you put out less CO₂.
Common mistakes
Where the test often trips people up
In these places a question often means something different from what it seems to say when you read it quickly.
- Thinking braking distance grows in a straight line
- If you drive twice as fast, your braking distance is four times as long, not twice as long. So at 100 km/h you need four times the distance you need at 50 km/h. It's a classic trap.
- Trying to judge the gap in metres
- Nobody can measure metres by eye while driving, which is why the two-second rule is more useful in real life. As a rough guide, half your speed in metres also works, so at 50 km/h that's about 25 m.
- Driving at the full limit in the wet
- Rain, snow and ice make your braking distance much longer, so you have to slow down for the weather even when the sign allows more. If you still drive at the limit, you take a much bigger risk, and after an accident you can be held partly to blame. How the blame is shared depends on the individual case.
- Underestimating the force of an impact
- The energy in a crash grows with the square of your speed. Hitting something at 50 km/h is roughly like falling from a height of 10 m, and at 100 km/h it's like falling from 40 m. Nobody survives that without protection.
Sample questions
What the questions in the theory test look like
Click on a question to see the answer. You can practise the full set of official questions with our learning app.
How do you work out your reaction distance at 60 km/h?
What gap should you keep to the vehicle in front?
You are driving in the wet. What should you do?
In the driving lesson
Where you'll meet topic 8 again in the car
On a drive from the city over country roads and onto the motorway, the speed limit changes several times. Whenever you drive, and that includes the motorway part of the mandatory drives (Sonderfahrten), you have to adjust your speed in good time at each change and keep a gap that suits the speed you're doing.
Questions and answers
Common questions about topic 8
Short answers to questions around this topic.
What is the speed limit for a car towing a trailer outside towns?
When do you get a driving ban for speeding?
What is aquaplaning?
Does cruise control really save fuel?
What is the advisory speed on the motorway?
Registration
Come along to the theory lessons
Pre-register online, with no obligation. Once your registration has gone through, you join at the next lesson, whichever topic is on that day.
Or just drop by
- Phone
- 0211 21098911
- Mon–Fri
- 10:30–19:00
- Sat
- 10:00–15:00
- Sun
- Closed
Read on
Related topics and pages
- Topic 2: The human risk factorAlcohol, drugs, tiredness and distraction, and how much they slow your reactions.
- Topic 9: Observation & manoeuvresMirrors and shoulder checks, overtaking, changing lanes, turning round and reversing.
- Topic 11: Dealing with special situationsAccidents, breakdowns, emergency vehicles, fog, ice and what to do in a tunnel.
- Class BThe car licence.
- Class B197Learn in an automatic, drive a manual too.
- Intensive courseAll the theory lessons on consecutive days.
