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History
Autobahns were conceived, planned and build in the democratic Germany of the 1920s, but apart form the AVUS in Berlin, most sections were not completed due to economic problems. One project was the private initiative HaFraBa which planned a "car only road" (the name Autobahn was created in 1929) crossing Germany from Hamburg in the North via central Frankfurt to Basel in Switzerland.
After 1933, the Nazis and Hitler used the Autobahn concept for propaganda purposes. The legend that the construction of the Autobahn network put an end to the high unemployment still lives on. Yet, of several million unemployed workers, roughly only 100,000 found work in the Organisation Todt which was named after Fritz Todt.
The autobahns formed the first limited access high-speed road network in the world, with the first section from Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt opening in 1935. This straight section was used for high speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union until the fatal accident of the popular German race driver Bernd Rosemeyer in early 1938.
Current density
Today, Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about 11,980 km (as of January 1, 2003), second only the United States' Interstate system. Some sections are modern, 3 lanes wide plus emergency lane. Yet, other sections remain similar to the original state, with two lanes, no emergency lane, short ramps etc.
Speed limits
The German autobahns are famous for being the only important public roads in the world without blanket speed limits for cars and motorcycles, though traffic on them is usually heavy enough to restrict speeds to little above typical motorway speeds in most cases. However, speed limits do apply at junctions and other danger points, like sections under construction or in need of repair. Some limits were imposed to reduce pollution and noise. Limits can also be put into place temporarily through dynamic traffic guidance systems that display the according traffic signs.
It is important to remember that in places without a general limit, the overtaking is not limited either. So everyone who is speeding at will has to beware of trucks running side by side at roughly 80 km/h (50 mph).
Modern cars easily reach well over 200 km/h (125mph), and most large car manufacturers follow a gentlemen's agreement by artificially limiting the top speed of their cars to 250 km/h (155mph) for safety reasons (tire problems). Yet, these limiters can easily be removed, so speeds over 300 km/h (185mph) are not uncommon nowadays.
Autobahns in Austria and Switzerland have normal speed limits.
Notable German traffic laws pertaining to Autobahns
Compare Interstate highway, Road transport, Toll road, Parkway