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Theorie · StVO

What is the safe following distance and stopping distance in Germany?

The safe following gap is half your speedometer reading in metres — 25 m at 50 km/h, 50 m at 100 km/h. Stopping distance is thinking, (speed÷10)×3, plus braking, (speed÷10)². The exam also fixes cyclist clearance at 1.5–2 m and three separate sets of countdown boards. StVO §4, checked 2026-08-03.

Distance questions carry 4 and 5 error points, because these are the metres that decide whether an incident becomes a crash.

The three formulas, and the gap rule

Reaktionsweg = (speed ÷ 10) × 3 · Bremsweg = (speed ÷ 10)² · Gefahrbremsung = (speed ÷ 10)² ÷ 2 · Anhalteweg = thinking + braking. At 50 km/h that is 15 + 25 = 40 m, or 27.5 m with a full-force stop.

The safe following distance is half the speedometer reading, in metres — 25 m at 50 km/h, 50 m at 100 km/h. Lorries over 3.5 t and buses must keep at least 50 m outside built-up areas whenever they exceed 50 km/h.

Run the stopping-distance simulator to watch why doubling the speed quadruples the braking distance rather than doubling it.

§4 Abs. 1 & Abs. 3 StVO

§4 StVO

Signs and posts that measure distance for you

  • LeitpfostenRoadside guide post
  • Dreistreifige BakeThree-stripe countdown marker (240 m)
  • Zweistreifige BakeTwo-stripe countdown marker (160 m)
  • Einstreifige BakeOne-stripe countdown marker (80 m)
  • Verbot des Unterschreitens des angegebenen MindestabstandesMinimum following distance
  • StauTraffic queue likely
RuleDistanceWhat you measure, and why
Warning triangle inside a town≈ 50 mBehind your car. Unfold it first and carry it in front of you as you walk, facing the traffic.
Warning triangle, country road≈ 100 mFaster traffic needs more warning. Around a bend or over a crest, place it before the bend, not after it.
Warning triangle, Autobahn≈ 200 mWalk behind the crash barrier, never along the hard shoulder. Everyone waits behind the barrier too.
Passing a cyclist inside a town1.5 mFrom your widest point — the mirror — to theirs. If the road is too narrow to give it, you may not pass at all.
Passing a cyclist outside a town2.0 mHigher speed pushes a bigger wall of air at them.
Lorry over 3.5 t or bus, outside towns above 50 km/h50 mA fixed legal minimum for heavy vehicles, not a half-speedometer calculation.
Countdown boards before a level crossing240 / 160 / 80 mThree stripes, two, one. The stripes always slope down towards the road, so a board on your right has stripes rising left to right.
Countdown boards before an Autobahn exit300 / 200 / 100 mBlue with white stripes. Different numbers from the red rail boards — the exam tests both, next to each other.
Danger signs before the hazard, outside towns150–250 mA white plate underneath gives the exact figure when it differs from the default.
Reflector posts (Leitpfosten) on country roads50 mA free tape measure: one gap is 50 m, the right gap at 100 km/h, and the visibility threshold for the rear fog light.

Not statute: The neat 200 / 100 / 50 m triad for the warning triangle is what driving schools teach, not what the statute says. §15 StVO requires only an “ausreichende Entfernung” and mentions “etwa 100 m bei schnellem Verkehr”. Learn the triad because the exam marks it, but on a real road the test is whether drivers get enough warning.

The same distances, in paces and in seconds

Close quarters — step these out

  • Passing a cyclist in town1.5 m

    Mirror to handlebar, §5 Abs. 4 StVO · ≈ 2 paces on foot

  • Passing a cyclist outside town2 m

    More speed, bigger wall of air · ≈ 3 paces on foot

  • Parking before/after a junction5 m

    From where the kerb lines cross · ≈ 7 paces on foot

  • …with a cycle path on your right8 m

    So drivers can see cyclists coming · ≈ 11 paces on foot

  • Stopping near a light or sign10 m

    If your car would hide it · ≈ 13 paces on foot

  • Parking near a bus/tram stop sign15 m

    The bus needs the whole length · ≈ 20 paces on foot

Warning distances — you walk or drive these

  • Reflector-post spacing50 m

    One gap = 50 m = the fog threshold · 3.6 s at 50 km/h

  • Level-crossing board, one stripe80 m

    Zeichen 162 · 5.8 s at 50 km/h

  • Warning triangle, country road100 m

    §15 StVO: 'ausreichende Entfernung' · 7.2 s at 50 km/h

  • Level-crossing board, two stripes160 m

    Zeichen 160 · 12 s at 50 km/h

  • Warning triangle, Autobahn200 m

    Walk behind the crash barrier · 14 s at 50 km/h

  • Level-crossing board, three stripes240 m

    Zeichen 159, the first warning · 17 s at 50 km/h

Bars are to scale inside each column, not across both — 240 m and 1.5 m cannot share a ruler and stay readable. A pace is taken as 0.75 m, so the left column is something you can actually walk out on a pavement. The right column is converted into seconds instead, because at speed a warning distance is really an amount of time.

Original practice questions — not the amtlicher Fragenkatalog. Every question, sign description and scenario here is written by us and covers the same StVO rules as the official Klasse B test. We are not TÜV, DEKRA or a Fahrschule, and we do not reproduce the official catalogue. Road signs themselves are amtliche Werke (StVO Anlage 1–3). Rules checked against StVO and FeV on 2026-08-03.

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Last updated: 2026-08-03