European Driving Speed Limits
June 12, 2012 at 5:06 PM
European Driving Speed Limits
I thought it might be useful to do a roundup of the various speed restrictions for most of the main European driving countries.
Austria
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 62mph (100km/h)
Motorways up to 80mph (130km/h)
Belgium
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 74mph (120km/h)
France
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 80mph (130km/h)
Germany
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 62mph (100km/h)
Motorway – No official limit but recommended speed is 80mph (130km/h)
Please Note: A awful lot of people think there are no speed limits on any German motorways, or autobahns. In fact, more than half are speed restricted and signposted accordingly. In the places where speeds are unrestricted, you are likley to be held liable for additional court damages if speed is a contributing factor in an accident.
Italy
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 68mph (110km/h)
Portugal
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 74mph (120km/h)
Spain
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 68mph (110km/h)
Switzerland
Speed limit restrictions:
Built Up Area 31mph (50km/h)
Outside Built Up Areas 55mph (90km/h)
Motorway 74mph (120km/h)
Also some of the lesser visited countries have the following limits; Bulgaria and Denmark has a motorway speed limit of 80mph (130km/h). I am not sure what the maximum motorway speed in Croatia and Holland is but they both have a "Minimum" speed which is 37 mph (60km/h).
In Norway they are very strict on speeds and it is just 18mph (30km/h) in a lot of built up areas and a mere 62mph (100km/h) on most motorways.
Poland has a wide variation in speed limits ranging from a top speed of 86mph (140km/h) on some motorways down to a mere 12mph (20km/h) in residential areas.
I do stress that this information was correct at the time of writing and is only to be used as a guide. Quoting these figures to a policeman in a European country will not save you from a speeding fine. So use caution and pay particular attention to the road signs wherever you are driving.
