decars1-9, Exercise 1: "No speed limit"

Model answer (check the figures):

What it means: there is no nationwide maximum speed on the motorway network, and on stretches without a posted limit drivers may legally travel faster than the recommended speed.

What it does not mean:
1. Not the whole network: roughly 70 per cent of the length is reported to have no posted limit, so about 30 per cent does, at 100, 120 or 130 km/h or with variable signs. Counts differ with date and method.
2. Not a free-for-all: a recommended speed of 130 km/h (the Richtgeschwindigkeit) applies, and a driver involved in an accident at a higher speed may share the blame or the liability.
3. Not without other rules: keep right except to overtake, no overtaking on the right in ordinary traffic, an emergency corridor in a jam, and strict enforcement of posted limits, at roadworks and in towns.

Careful sentence: "Most of the German motorway network has no posted speed limit, but a recommended speed of 130 km/h applies and many sections are limited."