Germany has the world's second largest road system. There are 636,000km of roads with over 221,000km of this being trunk roads and motorways. These roads carry a huge and growing volume of traffic. On the whole the roads in Germany are well engineered and maintained. It is rare to see potholes and snow removal is almost instantaneous in the winter months. However, motorways are rarely lit at night.

City Driving

• Some town and city streets are paved with cobblestones but are generally in good repair

• At times the road may seem quite narrow with tight corners but usually there is enough room for two cars to pass

• Traffic is variable at different times of the day

Country Driving

• Country roads are well marked and the vast majority are two lanes

• There are white poles with reflectors every 30-50 metres in forest or bushy areas.

• Reflectors hang by pieces of string from branches to keep animals away from the road when traffic is passing at nightMost country roads are cleared of snow very quickly – usually within hours