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Road rules abroad

Poland → Germany

Driving in Germany when you know Poland

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

Driving to Germany from Poland: 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 Germany?
In Germany you drive on the right.
What is the speed limit in Germany?
No general limit on motorways, no general limit on dual carriageways, 100 km/h on country roads and 50 km/h in towns and cities. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
What is the drink driving limit in Germany?
The legal limit in Germany is 0.5 g/l. 0.5 Promille. From 1.1 Promille driving is a criminal offence, and below 0.5 you can still be liable if driving is visibly affected. Drivers who passed their test recently are held to 0 g/l.
What do you have to carry in your car in Germany?
You must carry a warning triangle, a high-visibility vest and a first aid kit.

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

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have their own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
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What's different (11)

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical
Poland · home140 km/hSigned A. The highest general motorway limit in Europe.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destinationNo 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 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical
Poland · home90 km/hChecked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destination100 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How much alcohol you may have in your blood

Critical
Poland · home0.2 g/lThe same for everyone — new drivers, professional drivers and visitors alike. One drink will put most people over it. If you are coming from a country with a 0.5 or 0.8 limit, treat Poland as zero.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destination0.5 g/l0.5 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 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical
Poland · home
  • Warning triangle
  • Fire extinguisher
The fire extinguisher is the one visitors do not expect. Check the hire car has one before you drive away. A first aid kit is not required in Poland, though the police advise carrying one anyway.Checked 19 Aug 2026
Germany · destination
  • 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 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Important
Poland · home120 km/hThis is the expressway signed S, with two carriageways. Poland treats it as its own road class, below the motorway. A single-carriageway expressway, or an ordinary road with two lanes each way, is 100.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destinationNo 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 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

ImportantStricter than at home
Poland · home0.2 g/lNo separate limit for new drivers. The general limit is already this low.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destination0 g/lZero alcohol for the two-year probationary period and for anyone under 21.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may drive

Important
Poland · home17 yearsLowered to 17 recently. Until you turn 18 the licence is valid only inside Poland, so a 17-year-old cannot drive out of the country on it.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destination18 years17 is possible only in the accompanied-driving scheme, within Germany.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence

Important
Poland · home
  • Engine up to 125 cc
  • Power up to 11 kW
Only once you have held category B for at least 3 years, and only inside Poland. The licence page adds a third condition with no slot here, a power-to-weight ratio of at most 0.1 kW per kg of unladen mass. From day one a B licence covers category AM, so a moped is always included; the Road Traffic Act defines that class as 50 cc for petrol or 4 kW for electric, with a design speed of 45 km/h. The source does not say whether a foreign B licence gets the same 125 cc allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026
Germany · destination
  • 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 · official source

When you must switch your headlights on

Good to know
Poland · homeRequired at all timesDipped headlights at all times, day and night, all year.Checked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destinationNot requiredRequired for motorcycles only. Cars need lights at night and in poor visibility.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know
Poland · home14 yearsCategory AM. A moped is limited to 50 cc or 4 kW and 45 km/h by design.Checked 2 Sep 2026
Germany · destination15 yearsUntil the 16th birthday the AM licence is valid only inside Germany.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know
Poland · home
  • Engine at least 50 cc
  • Power at least 4 kW
  • Top speed at least 45 km/h
Anything the Act classes as a moped is banned, from motorways and from the S-signed expressways alike. A moped is a two- or three-wheeler with a petrol engine of at most 50 cc or an electric motor of at most 4 kW, whose build caps it at 45 km/h. The size cap and the speed cap apply together: a machine that exceeds either one is a motorcycle and may enter. The Act also requires a motorway vehicle to be able to reach 40 km/h, which any motorcycle does. The ban is by vehicle class, not by a sign, because the statute keeps mopeds out of the motor-vehicle class that motorways and expressways are reserved for.Checked 2 Sep 2026
Germany · destination
  • 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 · official source

Known on one side only (17)

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationDepends 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 · official source

Which side you overtake on

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationLeftPassing on the right is only for vehicles turning left, and for trams.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in living and residential zones

Poland · home20 km/hChecked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destinationNot yet verified

Priority to traffic coming from the right

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationYes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctionsRight before left at any unsigned junction, including small residential ones.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Age below which a child needs a child seat

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destination12 yearsA child needs a seat until age 12, unless already 150 cm tall.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Height below which a child needs a child seat

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destination150 cmA child shorter than 150 cm needs a seat until age 12.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Winter tyres

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationRequired 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 · official source

What a rider must wear or carry

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationNothing beyond a helmetOnly the helmet is required by law. Protective clothing is strongly advised, and courts may reduce compensation after a crash if none was worn.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

How you pay for motorways

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destination
  • 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 · official source

Alcohol limit for professional drivers

Poland · home0.2 g/lChecked 16 Aug 2026
Germany · destinationNot yet verified

Who has priority at a roundabout

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationTraffic already on the roundabout goes firstWhere the roundabout sign is posted, traffic on the circle has priority and you must not indicate on entry — only on exit. An unsigned circle falls back to right-before-left.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking on the pavement

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationOnly where signs or markings allow itOnly where a sign or marking explicitly allows it.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking facing against the traffic

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationOnly on one-way streetsPark on the right edge in the direction of travel; one-way streets allow the left.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How far you must park from a junction or crossing

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destination
  • A junction — 5 m
8 m where a marked cycle path crosses.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Low-emission zones

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationIn many citiesAround 39 Umweltzonen, including Berlin, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart. A green windscreen sticker is required, including on foreign cars — order it before travelling.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Emergency number

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destination112112 for fire and ambulance. 110 reaches the police.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether police can fine you on the spot

Poland · homeNot yet verified
Germany · destinationYesMinor 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 · official source
Same in both (9)