Germany → United Kingdom

Driving in the UK when you know Germany

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

Driving to the UK from Germany: what to check before you go

These are the key destination rules to check first. The comparison below shows every verified difference. Follow local signs and instructions on the road.

Which side of the road do you drive on in the UK?: In the UK you drive on the left.
What is the speed limit in the UK?: 70 mph on motorways, 70 mph on dual carriageways, 60 mph on country roads and 30 mph in towns and cities. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
What is the drink driving limit in the UK?: The legal limit in the UK is 80 mg/100ml. England and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.
What do you have to carry in your car in the UK?: Nothing. The UK requires no equipment by law.

Read the full driving rules in the UK and the required car equipment in the UK .

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have there own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.

What's different (23)

Which side of the road you drive on

Critical

Germany · homeRightChecked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationLeftChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical

Germany · homeNo general limitNo general limit for cars. 130 km/h is the official recommendation, and going faster can mean sharing liability after an accident. Signed limits apply on many stretches.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination70 mphChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical

Germany · home100 km/h — about 62 mphChecked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination60 mph — about 97 km/hSingle carriageway roads.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in towns and cities

CriticalVaries by region

Germany · home50 km/h — about 31 mphMany streets are signed 30.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination30 mph — about 48 km/hEngland and Scotland. Wales uses 20 mph as the default in built-up areas.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Wales20 mph — about 32 km/hThe default in built-up areas. Some roads are signed back up to 30.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How much alcohol you may have in your blood

CriticalVaries by region

Germany · home0.5 g/l — about 50 mg/100ml0.5 Promille. From 1.1 Promille driving is a criminal offence, and below 0.5 you can still be liable if driving is visibly affected.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination80 mg/100ml — about 0.8 g/lEngland and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Scotland50 mg/100ml — about 0.5 g/lChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

Critical

Germany · homeDepends on where your licence is fromEU and EEA licences are accepted as they are. Other licences need a German translation unless the licence conforms to the 1968 Vienna Convention or an International Driving Permit is carried.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot requiredA full foreign licence is accepted on its own for visits.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical

Germany · home

Warning triangle
High-visibility vest
First aid kit

Triangle and vest under StVZO §53a. The first aid kit (DIN 13164) is required separately by StVZO §35h: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvzo_2012/__35h.htmlChecked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNothing — no equipment is legally requiredNothing is legally required. Drivers arriving from most of continental Europe expect a triangle and a vest to be compulsory here; they are not.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Which side you overtake on

Important

Germany · homeLeftPassing on the right is only for vehicles turning left, and for trams.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationRightChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Important

Germany · homeNo general limitRoads with structurally separated carriageways have no general car limit, like motorways. The 130 km/h recommendation applies. Signed limits are common.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination70 mphChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may drive

Important

Germany · home18 years17 is possible only in the accompanied-driving scheme, within Germany.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination17 yearsChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Turning at a red light

Important

Germany · homeOnly where a sign allows itOnly where a green arrow plate (Grünpfeil) is mounted beside the red light, only turning right, and only after a complete stop.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot allowedRed means stop for every direction. A separate green arrow is the only exception.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Height below which a child needs a child seat

Important

Germany · home150 cmA child shorter than 150 cm needs a seat until age 12.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination135 cmUntil 135 cm tall or age 12, whichever comes first.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Winter tyres

Important

Germany · homeRequired whenever the road is icy or snowyCondition-based, not date-based: winter tyres (3PMSF) are required whenever there is snow, slush or ice on the road, at any time of year.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot requiredChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence

Important

Germany · home

Engine up to 50 cc
Power up to 4 kW
Top speed up to 45 km/h

A German category B licence includes class AM. The speed limit applies to every AM machine; the engine limit is for petrol engines and the power limit for diesel or electric. The rule itself is in FeV §6, which names only the EU class L1e-B; the figures are from the federal motor transport authority's licence-class table. With a short training course and no exam, drivers aged 25 or over who have held B for five years can add code B196 for 125 cc, 11 kW motorbikes. B196 is valid only inside Germany.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination

Engine up to 50 cc

A full car licence lets you ride a moped up to this engine size without L plates or a moped test. If you passed your car test on or after 1 February 2001 you must first complete a compulsory basic training (CBT) course. Anything larger needs CBT and the motorcycle tests. The Highway Code's Annex 2 defines the two-wheeled moped class by a maximum design speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) rather than by engine size; that figure is not on the page cited here. Stated for licences issued in Great Britain; the source does not say whether foreign car licences get the same allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

How you pay for motorways

Important

Germany · home

None

Motorways are free for cars and motorcycles — the toll applies to trucks. A few tunnels and private roads charge individually.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination

Toll booths
City charges

Almost all motorways are free. The M6 Toll and several bridges and tunnels charge. London and Durham charge to drive in the city centre.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking facing against the traffic

Good to know

Germany · homeOnly on one-way streetsPark on the right edge in the direction of travel; one-way streets allow the left.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationAllowedBy day only. At night you must not park facing against the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How far you must park from a junction or crossing

Good to know

Germany · home

A junction — 5 m

8 m where a marked cycle path crosses.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination

A junction — 10 m

Advisory rather than a fixed law, except where markings say otherwise.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know

Germany · home15 yearsUntil the 16th birthday the AM licence is valid only inside Germany.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination16 yearsCategory AM. CBT, a theory test and a practical test are needed for a full moped licence.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Riding between lanes of slow traffic

Good to know

Germany · homeNot allowedWeaving between queued vehicles counts as overtaking on the right, which is banned. Passing on the left is allowed in theory but needs a full safe side gap, which a traffic jam rarely leaves. Using the emergency corridor (Rettungsgasse) is banned.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destinationAllowedNo law bans filtering. The Highway Code tells riders to take care and keep their speed low when filtering in slow-moving traffic, and tells drivers to expect it.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know

Germany · home

Top speed at least 60 km/h

Framed as a design speed, not a vehicle class or engine size: only vehicles whose design speed is more than 60 km/h may use motorways and motor roads, so exactly 60 km/h is not enough. A 45 km/h moped does not qualify.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination

Engine at least 50 cc
Power at least 4 kW

The rule is set by engine size, not vehicle class: riders of motorcycles under 50 cc (4 kW) must not use motorways, so a machine of exactly 50 cc is allowed. The Highway Code gives the power figure in brackets as the equivalent of the engine size rather than as a separate test. Riders holding only a provisional motorcycle licence must not use motorways either.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Headlights on a motorbike in daytime

Good to know

Germany · homeRequired at all timesDipped headlight or daytime running lights must be on in daylight.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destinationNot requiredDipped headlights in daylight are advised to make the rider easier to see, but they are not required.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Emergency number

Good to know

Germany · home112112 for fire and ambulance. 110 reaches the police.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destination999112 also works and reaches the same service.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether police can fine you on the spot

Good to know

Germany · homeYesMinor offences up to 55 euros can be settled on the spot as a warning fine. Larger fines are billed — but drivers without a German address can be required to pay a security deposit immediately.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationYes — visitors must pay at the roadsideFixed penalties are normally paid later, not at the roadside. A driver who cannot give a UK address must pay a deposit on the spot.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Known on one side only (9)

Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Motorway — 60 mph
Dual carriageway — 60 mph
Country roads — 50 mph

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Germany · home0 g/lZero alcohol for the two-year probationary period and for anyone under 21.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot yet verified

Priority to traffic coming from the right

Germany · homeYes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctionsRight before left at any unsigned junction, including small residential ones.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot yet verified

What the lines and painted kerbs mean

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Double yellow line — no parking. No waiting at any time, even without an upright sign.
Single yellow line — no parking during signed hours. The hours are on nearby time plates, not on the road.
Double red line — no stopping. Red routes. No stopping at any time.
Single red line — no stopping. Red routes. Applies during the times shown on nearby signs.
White zigzag line — no stopping. Marks the approach to a pedestrian crossing.

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How long you may drive on your own licence

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination12 monthsCounted from when you last entered Great Britain.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking on the pavement

Varies by region

Germany · homeOnly where signs or markings allow itOnly where a sign or marking explicitly allows it.Checked 3 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNo single national answer:

EnglandAllowedExcept London, where it is banned. Discouraged everywhere, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

ScotlandNot allowedChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

WalesAllowedDiscouraged, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Congestion charges

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationIn some citiesLondon and Durham.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you should carry, but do not have to

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Warning triangle
First aid kit
Fire extinguisher
High-visibility vest

Advised, not required. One motorway exception is worth knowing: do not set a warning triangle out on a motorway hard shoulder — get behind the barrier instead.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Typical fines

Germany · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Holding a phone — fine from 200 GBP, 6 points (Drivers who passed their test within the last 2 years lose their licence instead.)

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Same in both (9)

Holding a phone while driving — Not allowed official source
Who must wear a seatbelt — Everyone, in every seat official source
Age below which a child needs a child seat — 12 years official source
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter — Required for rider and passenger official source
What a rider must wear or carry — Nothing beyond a helmet official source
When you must switch your headlights on — Not required official source
Hands-free phone calls — Allowed official source
Who has priority at a roundabout — Traffic already on the roundabout goes first official source
Low-emission zones — In many cities official source