What are the speed limits when driving in Europe?
Speed limits on European motorways vary from country to country, but are generally between 110 and 130 km/h, with a maximum speed of 50 or 60 km/h in urban areas. You should pay attention to road signs to understand the exact restrictions and whether any special conditions may apply.
The table below shows the general maximum speed limits for cars in some popular European countries. In some countries, restrictions are reduced due to bad weather or for new drivers.
All European countries have speed limits on motorways. The only exception to this list is Germany, where there are no speed limits on some motorways.
Speed limits in Europe are classified into three, and in some countries – into four types. It depends on the type of road you are driving on – built-up traffic, non-built-up traffic and on-road traffic. In some countries, there is another type of transportation – road traffic.
The figure below presents a map of speed limits in Europe for cars with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tons without a trailer.
As can be seen from the table below, the speed limit for passenger cars on freeways in most countries is between 120 and 130 km/h. In Germany, 130 km/h on autobahns is only the recommended speed. In practice, more than 50% of the autobahns in Germany have no speed limits. The only negative is that in many countries these roads are excellent roads.
The data in the table below can be sorted in ascending / descending order by clicking on the column header.
For vehicles with a total weight of up to 3.5 tons
| Country | Within town | Single carriagway | Expressway | Motorway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 50 | 100 | 130 | |
| Azerbaijan | 60 | 90 | 90 | 110 |
| Albania | 40 | 80 | 90 | 110 |
| Andorra | 50 | 90 | ||
| Armenia | 60 | 90 | 110 | |
| Belarus (In Belarus, the maximum speed on most of the M1 highway Brest – Minsk – Russian border is 120 km/h) | 60 | 90 | 110 | |
| Belgium (In Flanders (northern region of Belgium) the maximum speed outside populated areas is 70 km/h. In other regions of Belgium the speed limit is 90 km/h.) | 50 | 90 (70) | 120 | 120 |
| Bulgaria (In Bulgaria, the maximum speed on the motorway is 140 km/h only on those sections that meet all safety requirements. On other sections of the motorway, the old speed limit of 130 km/h remains.) | 50 | 90 | 120 | 140 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 50 | 80 | 100 | 130 |
| United Kingdom | 48 | 96 | 112 | 112 |
| Hungary | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Germany (In Germany, 130 km/h is the recommended maximum speed on the motorway. At the same time, on many sections of the autobahn (according to Wikipedia, more than 50%) a strict speed limit of 80 km/h to 130 km/h has already been introduced.) | 50 | 100 | 130 | |
| Greece | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Georgia | 60 | 90 | 110 | |
| Denmark | 50 | 80 | 110 | 130 |
| Ireland | 50 | 80 | 100 | 120 |
| Iceland | 50 | 80 | 90 | |
| Spain | 50 | 90 | 100 | 120 |
| Italy | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Cyprus | 50 | 80 | 100 | |
| Latvia | 50 | 90 | 110 | |
| Lithuania (In Lithuania, from November 1 to March 31, the maximum speed on motorways and highways is 110 km/h.) | 50 | 90 | 120 | 130 |
| Liechtenstein | 50 | 80 | ||
| Luxembourg | 50 | 90 | 130 | |
| Malta | 50 | 80 | ||
| Moldova | 50 | 90 | 110 | |
| Netherlands | 50 | 80 | 100 | 130 |
| Norway (There are eight road sections in Norway where the maximum speed limit has been increased to 110 km/h.) | 50 | 80 | 110 | |
| Poland (In Poland, from 23:00 to 05:00, the maximum permitted speed in a populated area increases from 50 km/h to 60 km/h. Outside the populated area on roads with one lane in one direction – 90 km/h, and with two lanes in one direction – 100 km/h. On a road with one lane in one direction – 100 km/h, with two lanes in one direction – 120 km/h.) | 50 | 90 | 120 | 140 |
| Portugal | 50 | 90 | 100 | 120 |
| Russia | 60 | 90 | 90 | 110 |
| Romania (For roads that have the status of national expressways or European roads (E85). On regional roads the speed limit is 90 km/h.) | 50 | 100 | 130 | 130 |
| North Macedonia | 50 | 80 | 100 | 130 |
| Serbia | 50 | 80 | 100 | 130 |
| Slovakia | 50 | 90 | 90 | 130 |
| Slovenia | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Turkey | 50 | 90 | 110 | 120 |
| Ukraine | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Finland | 50 | 80 | 120 | |
| France | 50 | 80 | 110 | 130 |
| Croatia | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Montenegro | 50 | 80 | 100 | 130 |
| Czech Republic (In the Czech Republic, the maximum permitted speed on a highway inside a populated area is reduced to 80 km/h.) | 50 | 90 | 110 | 130 |
| Switzerland | 50 | 80 | 100 | 120 |
| Sweden (There are seven sections of roads in Sweden where the maximum speed limit has been increased to 120 km/h.) | 50 | 90 | 120 | |
| Estonia | 50 | 90 | 110 |