Bad News For Speed Freaks: You'll Soon Have To Pay To Use The German Autobahn

The Autobahn: utter its name to most petrolheads outside of Germany and they’ll immediately imagine blasting along a de-restricted section of the famous motorway at speeds that would result in serious fines back home. From 2016 onwards, that’s a privilege which foreigners will have to buy a permit for.

Fortunately, it’s not all that expensive. Foreign motorists will have to purchase a special badge to access the autobahn, which will cost €10 (£8) for 10 days, or €100 (£80) for a year. German motorists will also need to purchase the badge, but this will be offset with a reduction in vehicle tax.

Other European countries like the Czech Republic and Austria already operate similar schemes for foreign motorists, so it’s certainly not a new idea. And in any case, €10 seems like a small price to pay to access this incredible motorway network.