It’s said that Germans are meticulous in their work and must have very strict requirements for traffic safety management. So why are there no speed limits on their highways? Is it to improve traffic safety?

  Only about two-thirds of the highways are without speed limits. For safety reasons, urban sections still have restrictions, capped at 250 km/h. At this speed, many cars will automatically cut the throttle. Although it’s the fastest highway in the world, it also has the fewest accidents (6,000 deaths per year — this number is likely several times higher than what a single province in China, like Guangdong, sees in a quarter). This is because it’s the most rationally designed, safest-monitored, and best-maintained highway in the world.

  Design:
  Each slope does not exceed 4 degrees: If steeper, engineering efforts will be made to blast through mountains and rocks to prevent potential accident risks caused by excessive slopes. (Just look at the Huadu-Yangshan section of National Highway 107 in China... overly long and steep slopes cause daily brake failure accidents for both trucks and cars, not to mention overloading being a major factor as well.) This approach minimizes overall social usage costs, although the initial investment is also enormous.
  Road surface concrete thickness: 80 cm. Pretty terrifying, right? (It might handle 140,000 vehicle passes.) (This usage volume is twice that of the most heavily used interstate highway in the U.S.) As early as World War I, when European motorsports were just emerging, racetrack constructions mostly adopted this thickness to serve as testing and racing venues, and many urban road sections may have originated from these former racetrack locations.
  Road surface gradient: 14 degrees, ensuring that rainwater can drain into roadside gutters and then be guided through permeable layers to water retention ponds on both sides of the highway, preventing secondary pollution to the land. It’s said that rainwater causes more erosion to roads than wheel friction, which is why you’ll see ponds and green spaces along the highways, almost like in the countryside.

  Safety Monitoring:
  % of road conditions such as temperature, vibration, video, wind speed, and snow/rainfall are monitored around the clock at hardwired levels. %.:s:
  Traffic flow control. Road signs and traffic lights are all computer-controlled. When traffic congestion occurs, the control center’s computers and personnel adjust signage based on road vibrations and video feeds. Of course, maintenance vehicles are also automatically coordinated during road repairs.
  Speed control. Germans are allowed to drive self-modified vehicles on the road. There are also speed maniacs. Patrol police ride BMW 1200cc motorcycles (max speed: 240 km/h) and modified BMW 3 Series roadsters (350 km/h), as well as plainclothes officers driving AUDIs and BENZs. If caught speeding in a limited zone, you’ll face a fine of 375 euros plus a three-month license suspension.

  Safety Assurance:
  Yellow Angels. A highly safe service team under an automobile association. Composed of vehicle repair technicians, senior surgeons, nurses, and helicopter crew members, they operate 24/7 in coordination with highway control centers. If you experience a flat tire or mechanical failure on the highway, yellow-clad service personnel will arrive in vehicles equipped with toolboxes to fix the issue and get you back on the road. In case of injury accidents (mostly serious ones), helicopters carrying doctors and nurses will arrive within 15 minutes to transport the injured to the nearest surgical hospital. However, drivers, nurses, and doctors often need psychological treatment afterward — some accident scenes are truly horrifying.
  Helicopter service fleet: 36 units, distributed across various highway locations.
  There are thousands of maintenance personnel and service vehicles.
  Their uniforms are all yellow or orange-yellow, hence the name “Yellow Angels.”