50 km/h inside a built-up area and 100 km/h outside one for cars up to 3.5 t — both apply with zero signage, because the yellow Ortstafel itself IS the 50 limit. A Streckenverbot such as Zeichen 274 only ends at Zeichen 278 or 282, never at a junction. StVO §3, checked 2026-08-03.
These apply when no sign says otherwise. The thing to learn is not the numbers — it is which sign tells you which rule you are currently under.
The signs that set your speed
| Limit | Who it applies to | How you know | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 km/h | Everything inside a built-up area | The yellow Ortstafel (Zeichen 310) IS the speed limit. There is no separate '50' sign, which is exactly why people miss it. It applies to lorries too. | §3 Abs. 3 Nr. 1 StVO |
| 100 km/h | Cars and vehicles up to 3.5 t outside a built-up area | Country roads carry no speed sign at all — the absence of one means 100. | §3 Abs. 3 Nr. 2c StVO |
| 80 km/h | Anything towing, any bus, anything over 3.5 t | Set by your own vehicle, not by a sign. Hitch a trailer and your personal limit drops to 80 everywhere outside a built-up area, motorway included, unless a Tempo-100 plate is fitted. | §3 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 StVO |
| 130 km/h | Cars on the Autobahn — a recommendation | No fine for exceeding it, but in a crash you can be held partly liable even if the other driver caused it. That twist is the exam point, not the number. | Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-VO |
| Walking pace | Everyone in a verkehrsberuhigter Bereich | Also required passing a bus with hazard lights at a stop, and a stopped tram with no boarding island. No statutory number exists — see the note below. | §42, §20 StVO |
| 30 km/h | Everyone inside a Tempo-30-Zone | Junctions inside these zones are usually unsigned, so rechts vor links applies throughout — that is the actual reason the zone question exists. | Zeichen 274.1 |
| As shown | Everyone | A Streckenverbot ends at Zeichen 278, at Zeichen 282, at a new limit, or at the Ortstafel. It does not quietly expire at a junction. | §41 StVO |
| 50 km/h | Whenever snow chains are fitted, or the rear fog light is legally on | Set by your equipment and the weather. The rear fog light is only allowed under 50 m visibility, and that visibility caps you at 50. | §17 Abs. 3, §3 Abs. 1 StVO |
| 60 km/h | Minimum DESIGN speed to be allowed on an Autobahn or Kraftfahrstraße | A property of the vehicle, not a speed you must drive. Anything that cannot exceed 60 km/h is banned from these roads. | §18 Abs. 1 StVO |
Not statute: Schrittgeschwindigkeit has no number in the StVO. The courts have put it between roughly 4 and 7 km/h and have disagreed with each other — OLG Karlsruhe settled on no more than 7 km/h, OLG Naumburg accepted up to 10. Learn it as “slow enough to stop instantly”, and treat any exam option quoting a precise figure with suspicion.
The posted limit is a ceiling, never a permission. You must always drive at a speed you can control — slower in fog, rain, snow, poor visibility, near children, and on a road you cannot see far enough along. A crash at the posted limit in conditions that demanded less is still your fault, and the exam tests this repeatedly.
§3 Abs. 1 StVO
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.
Last updated: 2026-08-03