I work for the German Autobahn Police - which means I get to drive and work on the Autobahn on a daily basis. AMA!

How fast does your police car have to be to keep up with all of the other speed demons on the road?

The E Class is limited to 235 km/h (146 mph), the Vito drives around 190 km/h (118 mph). Unmarked cars however, can be faster. Although we don't have to "keep up with speed demons" regularly.

Probably because they're already getting their fix on the commute back and forth to work.

I bet there are still more auto accidents here in the states than in Germany though...?

Road fatalities by 100.000 motor vehicles:

USA: 14.2

Germany: 6.4

(Shitty) source: Wikipedia

I knew it!

Speed limits are generally a protection racket.

No.

There is a small town I drive past when visiting my parents. Note I said past not through. They bought land on the interstate so they could give tickets. At least 60% of their city income is from interstate traffic tickets.

Another town along the way had their police force disbanded by the state supreme Court some years ago for changing the speed limit signs around and moving them in an active effort to "catch" people speeding so they could issue more tickets.

Don't speed in small town America

Wait, so you say you should not speed so that you don't get speeding tickets? Incredible.

are BMW drivers as bad in Germany as they are in North America?

Almost. I honestly have to say I have seen them use their indicators more often than I have expected.

Can you taser people for not using their indicators in Germany?

No, only very few police agencies use tasers. My state police is among the majority who doesn't allow the use of tasers. I think our SWAT uses them.

Do you want tasers?

I have been fine without them since I started, I don't need them, but it would be interesting to see them...

What do you use to defend your self?

Martial arts, pepper spray, a baton, and in case of emergency our pistol

I was unaware that German police carried a pistol!

Thank you for responding!

Maybe because (no hate, but) we don't use it that often like it's used in the US

... he has to catch them first!

We have unmarked BMWs

I think the dicks drive Audis in Germany not BMWs

Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, in general: Expensive German cars.

How much of the highway do you patrol during a shift? Do you move to other sections each day?

I like a lot of your responses. You're obviously dedicated, intelligent, and respectful. Also, a huge gamer nerd. Pretty awesome. :)

If you're ever near Heidelberg and pull over a pretty blonde named Satina, tell her Hi from her friends in Minnesota,! :P

Hah, thank you first of all. But even though I live in Baden-Württemberg, not anywhere near Heidelberg. I'm not sure about the numbers rn. But we have one section to patrol, assigned to our dept, a few hundred km. We drive on that stretch everyday. How we drive, and what we do, is determined by our daily assignment (e.g. check speed in construction zone).

Were you inspired to choose your career by Alarm für Cobra 11?

Lol no but good question

Have you had a driver offer you a bribe to get out of a ticket?

Not seriously. Jokingly, yes. But I think Germany in general is known to be very strict and things need to be done correctly around here.

Officer, is there some way we can work this out?

Ha ha... Just kidding.

Unless?

No it was more like "Can't you give us a warning? We'll even invite you to a coffee."

Mit küchen?

I think you mean Kuchen as in Kaffee und Kuchen.

Yes, thank you. English has no ü and most of my German was learned through speaking, so i accidentally throw it into words a lot...

A Küche is a kitchen :)

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Yes, you are allowed to drive in Germany up to 6 months.

Take a look at this.

If you want a piece of advice when you're interested on the Autobahn: The Autobahn is a public road. Never forget that. People commute, people drive to their holiday destinations. Trucks carry goods from one place to another. Don't use it as a racetrack. Obviously using it as a racetrack is a crime in Germany, but never forget that the family overtaking a truck with 75 mph has the right to overtake the truck on the left lane. There is no "slower traffic yield" law in Germany, only "keep right except to pass". Don't try to force somebody out of their way. That's considered coercion in traffic, which is also a crime and can land you in jail in the worst case. Stick to the speed limits, where there are some. I know, that in the US you usually go about 10-15 over without anybody noticing, but the speed cameras are not your friend if you do that in Germany. Also, a lot of German drivers don't go way more than 6-7 mph above the limit. You should not be the one that stands out.

this is the same in the UK, generally. Speed limits are enforced by cameras, which tend to be less forgiving. Here in the US you can drive for hundreds of miles in some places and not see any enforcement (either state police or cameras).

Country it huge though, so there are always going to be places without 'coverage'. I got pulled over for speeding in the mid-west a few years back and I was laughing when the cop came up to my window. He looked me weird but I said "you're the first car I've seen for like two hours!"

Imagine the US having average speed cameras everywhere. You're driving on a lonely country road that doesn't have any car on it for the next 80 miles? Shame you have to drive 55 or you'll get a ticket before the next exit.

yeah, that would be pretty terrible. I don't like the average speed cameras much in the UK either though - it's been my experience that people realise they were speeding towards then end and hit the brakes to get to 40mph for that last quarter mile, hoping they get below the average.

Would make mad bank for the local police though, so maybe they'll do it.

Afaik speed cameras in the US are unconstitutional. And I can't imagine people voting for introducing them. But yeah, imagine every single driver on the I-90 getting checked for speeding at every exit... your politicians must be absolute madlads to introduce that.

I had a US Army veteran telling me some weird traveller's tips in regards to the Autobahn, wanted your input please:

1. Carry a couple hundred euro in cash. If you get pulled over, fold them in with your license and information and you'll be let off with a warning.

2. Always tip the restroom attendants because if you don't they'll get on the radio with the truckers and you'll be boxed in for the rest of your journey.

No. 1 seems like a fast way to get arrested for attempted bribery, No. 2 seems like the truckers would have delivery deadlines and their jobs to look out for, why would they ever go slower than they need or put themselves in a risky position?

Both myths. If you want to land in jail, you can try the first one.

Given Germany’s ridiculously low fines, a couple hundred would be paying more than the actual fine :D

Sad but true.

Did you choose to work the Autobahn or did the police assign you to that area?

I chose to work there. Traffic policing was the thing I wanted to do.

Wird ds direkt unterschieden zwischen Autobahn und regulärer Verkehr? Ich finde Autobahnpolizei nämlich sehr wichtig aber, zumindest in meiner Stadt, als normaler Verkehrspolizist kann man ja wohl schwer behaupten man macht seinen Job um Leuten zu helfen

Die Autobahnpolizei ist ein Teil der Landespolizei. Und die hat eben auch Teile wie die BePo oder eben die Verkehrspolizei Innerhalb von Städten wird sehr viel Verkehrskram auch an den Gemeindevollzugsdienst abgegeben. Blitzen und Knöllchen macht die Polizei innerorts eher selten, das machen die Gemeinden.

Did it meet your expectations? You seem happy. I'd be terrified.

Well I had a lot of luck. And... it's fine. It is what I expected. But many police officerd will tell you the same as I will: The job is very stressful, and easily kills your social life. So it has ups and downs.

Do you socialize outside of the police force?

Sadly, barely. Also too much into PC games

I don't understand your last sentence. Too much into pc games? Do you mean too little time for pc games? Or do you mean that pesky people want you to socialize instead of playing pc games and that makes you mad?

I play PC games when I come home instead of socializing otherwise.

Can people ride theirs cars on the Autobahn eventhough they don't have an EU licence plate? Like Russian or Serbian?

Yes.

But I assume they will have to pay some fees to use the Autobahn?

Nope. I'm not a customs officer though.

How fast can one legally go on the autobahn?

On stretches with no speed limit:

(1) A person operating a vehicle may only travel at a speed that allows them to be in constant control of their vehicle. In particular, they must adjust their speed to road, traffic, visibility and weather conditions as well as to their personal abilities and to the nature of their vehicle and its load. If, owing to fog, snowfall or rain, visibility is less than 50 metres, they must not travel faster than 50 kph; where circumstances so require, they must travel at a lower speed. Their speed must be such that they can stop within their forward range of vision. However, on carriageways that are so that oncoming vehicles may be endangered, they must slow down so that they are able to stop within at least half of their range of forward vision.

So say on a sunny day which little traffic in a no speed limit zone if you go flying past a cop at say 220kph would he come after you? What if you’re going faster? Could you theoretically be doing like 250 everywhere it’s no speed limit? I can’t see a reason I would ever not be on the gas fully aside from shitty gas mileage.

No. If we have no reason to assume you're endangering somebody, we won't come after you. So, in theory, you can drive as fast as you want. "Shitty gas mileage" is something worth considering when you think about gas costing 6 dollars per gallon in Germany. However, if you have an accident above 130 km/h, you're automatically partly guilty even if somebody else it at fault. That's why we usually patrol at 130 km/h or below.

But be aware that the Autobahn has a lot of stretches with a speed limit. Don't think you can just do 250 for hundreds of kilometers.

gas costing 6 dollars per gallon in Germany.

Holy fuck

That's relatively cheap in Europe

What if it is a mechanical fault?

If you drive above 130 km/h you're accepting the increased risk of an accident. Your insurance can hold you partly-guilty. You're responsible to keep your vehicle impeccable.

What are your winters like? Do you carry any rescue equipment in your car?

We do carry some rescue equipment. However, how the winters are really depends on the region. There are regions that have very snowy winters, and a lot of them have snow at only two day in winter. Every car driving on public German roads has to be equipped with

1) a warning triangle

2) a not-expired first aid kit

3) a high visibility vest

I haven't been to that point yet, but I'm not surewhether we could get our car moving again if it's stuck in the snow, or not.

I'm a Canadian firefighter. We have 7-8 months of winter where I live. Was curious what it would be like to live in an area that I could actually drive and see pavement for nearly all of the year lol. Is snow a concern for you personally?

Was wondering if your area you patrol sees much in terms of wrecks with needs for extrication. We carry battery powered tools in all trucks so we can get started with a rescue so we don't have to wait for the Heavy Rescue truck to arrive.

No, honestly the summer is more of a concern to me. Because summers really do get hot (up to 100°F), but only like 1% of the buildings really have air conditioning. Heating however is usually no problem. It's getting colder, but usually not below like 15°F where I live.

We don't have powered tools, we're not the Feuerwehr

1. Ever had anything to do with Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond or any motoring show? Or heard about such an encounter?

2. What are the benefits of high/no speed limits? (Combined with strict implementation of rules and regulation, ofc.)

1. No, I love Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Last one was airing in the state of Germany I live in one time. Didn't meet anyone sadly.
2. Imo there are no real benefits. But I'm biased. I'm pro speed limit. 75/80 mph aka 120/130 km/h are totally fine for me.

Follow-up: are you a motoring enthusiast in your non-professional life? And does that come into play in your line of work?

I do love cars and driving, that was one of a few reasons why I wanted to do traffic. I don't work on my own car though.

What was the weirdest thing you've ever seen while working on the Autobahn, so far? I imagine you guys from police have seen some things that can't be unseen haha

Weird? Oh, I know. A fully drivable, yellow American school bus with a dancefloor in the back.

A fully drivable, yellow American school bus

Implying that you didn't think they could actually drive 🤔

Most American school buses are dismantled and their chassis is used as decoration or as like a sandwich joint. Also, US cars don't match European standards. Especially a whole bus would have been very difficult to change to EU standards.

When you are on patrol on the Autobahn, do you pull over every car you see, violating the rules, even the "minor" ones? E.g. not sticking to the "Rechtsfahrgebot" (obligation to drive on the right lane). Because most drivers don't care and don't seem to worry to get punished at all...

No. We pull over for even little stuff, but... In speed limited zones, we don't enforce the keep right except to pass law very strictly. If we see somebody driving the speed limit, using the middle lane for like a minute longer than he should to, we don't care about that. If he continues to drive on the middle lane for a few minutes, we'll do something. But usually we don't follow somebody for that long enough. There just more important things than the keep right except to pass law, trust me.

What's your favourite PC game, and what are you playing rn?

I'm still into WoW, but I don't have that much time I used to have in my youth. WoW is a very time consuming game...

Do you guys get fast cars like the cops in Abu Dhabi, so you can catch up with miscreants easily?

We have 300+ hp sedans, but no supercars

Are there certain stereotypes for drivers in regards to their car? For example that a high powered AMG/Porsche etc. would be more likely to speed? Grüße vom Bodensee

People in expensive cars with a lot of horsepower tend to use the horsepower more often, also because you don't realize in expensive cars how fast you really are. Also, the speeding fines are relatively low in Germany, so they can pay them with less financial problems

Thanks for the answer. I wanted to ask this question since I read a statistic that Porsche drivers have the highest % of speeding tickets in Germany but one of the lowest accident rates. So i wondered if its true that people with money are okay with paying a speeding fee as long as they get faster to their destination

Yes sadly they do.

What is the main reason you stop drivers for? What are the top three offences people are stopped for? Thanks

1. Speeding
2. Unsecure load / bad vehicle condition (especially for trucks)
3. Texting and driving, safety distance too small share the 3rd place

Do you always let Dutch people with long hair take a drug test at a reststatte?

For a drug test to happen we'll need to suspect you of drug use. Btw you mean a Raststätte

Does long hair make for a suspicious person

No.

They were looking through the glass in the car and questioning us separately. Was there a reason they didn't search our car physically?

I can not read the minds of other officers.

Ok, so, I’m from Canada and have no idea what a Autobahn? And what do you guys do?

The Autobahn is the German version of the Interstate Highway System. World famous for it's stretches without any speed limit.

That, and the fact that they are developed under the Nazis?

There has been a stretch of Autobahn before the nazis. Hitler just renamed it and made it into a lower class road so that he can claim to have built the first one.

What's the biggest car you've seen in the unlimited speed lane?

A 60 ton EuroCombi

What's your favorite patrol car, and are most of them Diesel?

I like to drive the E class, but I love to work with the Vito. The amount of space in that thing is insane, everything is organized. Very loud sometimes though. Yes, all of them are diesel.

With the Autobahn I've heard that in the unlimited speed zones there is a minimum speed limit that is strictly enforced, what's the slowest speed that you've pulled a driver over for doing?

There is no minimum speed. Your car has to drive 60 km/h, but you don't legally need to do 60. You just must not obstruct traffic. Stick behind the trucks doing 80-90 km/h and you're fine. I haven't pulled over a driver for being too slow yet.

Hehe, the two times I was pulled over by German police was for driving too slow. And they thought I was drunk. But I was sober, both times.

If you don't drive slower than the trucks or buses there is no reason to pull you over.

What are the parts of the job that you enjoy? Do you plan to do traffic policing your entire life or would you want to transfer to another department?

I love my job in general, I wanted to do especially traffic policing and driving is a lot of fun to me. I'm not sure if I want to do this my entire life or not. I'm still doing it and I don't have any other plans rn.

If you have heard of it, what is your opinion on America's (now defunct) speed limitless sections of interstate? (Mostly on the western half of the country, though most famous in Montana since they were the last to do away with it). Statistically speaking, it was about on par with the Autobahn in Germany in terms of accidents/fatalities

I haven't heard of it yet, but I'm pro-speed limit, even in Germany. It reduces pollution, it enhances the driving experience, it saves lifes. However. I could fully understand, that when you have 7 lane interstates that are straight for 40 miles without any form of civilization nearby, 70 mph seems awfully slow. But that's only the case in the US

What are the most common crimes committed on the autobahn.

Crimes or just minor infractions?

#1: Very recent case for me at least. Guy driving on the left-most lane for 42km, no lane change whatsoever. This a common thing i encounter when driving home on a friday night. Is there any legal way to overtake them (speed >100km/h) on the right or "coercing" them to change lanes ?

#2: Is there any talk about changing the ridiculous 1ng/ml THC level that in reality bars every person smoking cannabis from driving for a minimum of 4-5 days even though they are physically and mentally more capable of driving after 24hrs than a person who's drunk within legal limits ?

#1 No, there is no legal way to overtake them. The fact that he drives in the left most lane for that long may be a reason for you to overtake on the right. It's not legal, but I'd be quite sure that you won't get a ticket for that.

DO NOT coerce him to change lanes. This is a crime and can even land you in jail. I can't emphasize this enough.

I honestly don't really believe you when you say 42km, that's a very, very long distance. But, if it were true, call the police and report the driver.

#2 I don't think so.

Wie lange gilt „Lichthupe zum ankündigen eines überholvorgangs außerhalb von Ortschaften“ denn auf der Autobahn ? 42km ist ohne scheiß die komplette Autobahnstrecke meiner Heimfahrt. Kommt 1 mal im Monat vor, 10-20km fast 1 mal pro Woche

Ich würde die Lichthupe an deiner Stelle ganz weglassen. Wer 42 Kilometer auf der linken Spur fährt, wird auch nach einer Lichthupe nicht wach. Ich muss um ehrlich zu sein sagen, ich habe noch nie jemanden in Deutschland gesehen, der die Lichthupe, bzw. die Hupe als Ankündigung zum Überholen benutzt. Aber soweit ich weiß benötigst du das wenn dann nur, wenn du auf einer Straße mit Gegenverkehr überholst. Ansonsten macht das ja eigentlich wenig Sinn, dich bemerkbar zu machen. Die Gefahr, dass derjenige dich wegen Nötigung anzeigen möchte, ist dafür einfach zu groß.

Ich finde es trotzdem seltsam, dass jemand auf der linken Spur so lange fährt, wenn wirklich kein Auto in Sicht ist. Also, dass manche Leute das mit dem "ab und zu ein Auto auf der rechten Spur überholend" gelegentlich mal sehr weit ausdehnen, das kenne ich. Aber stur jemand links? Persönlich noch nie gesehen, wenn ich ehrlich sein soll, oder ich habe in dem Moment nicht hingeschaut. Ich glaube, du übertreibst da ein wenig.

Wenn jemand wirklich mehrere Kilometer stur auf der linken Spur fährt, ruf die 110 an. Immerhin behindert er nicht nur den Verkehr, sondern er gefährdet ihn auch, wenn von hinten jemand etwas schneller kommt und nicht damit rechnet, dass derjenige stur "AFK" auf der linken Spur geht.

Have you experienced that persons of particuar nationalities break the traffic rules more often than others? For example, I heard that Polish drivers have a bad reputation in Germany (I'm Polish myself so possible thats why it stands out to me).

No, and even if I think they'd do, I'd be subject to confirmation bias.

I once drove a bike with 2 promiles In Germany 2 years ago, got caught. Went to give blood, in the end got a letter that states if I pay 650 euros there will be no charges and no points etc. I did that and that was the end of it.

A guy I used to work with got caught with 2 promiles on a scooter after Oktoberfest. Police took his license away permanently.

The question - why did he recieve a far more harsh punishment? I was nice to the police and complied with everything, maybe he might have been a dick, I dunno? Or can police apply some judgment to these things?

Where do you live as permanent resident? And where does your friend live?

Both permanent Bavaria residents. Im from Latvia(EU), hes German.

One thing is that the police can only write reports to the office that processes driving bans and tickets. The police doesn't do anything. However, the regular fine would be 500€. That means, the office thought that you as a foreigner can't be banned from driving in your country by the state of Germany. So they wanted more money from you because they might have thought they couldn't enforce the ban and the points because you're not German.

However, your friend is German, so he got the full package.

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the German police in terms of professionalism and corruption? 10 is high professionalism and low corruption. Thanks and drive safe.

9

We have strict bribery laws. And we Germans have a reputation that we double check everything and everything is correctly done. We don't have a corruption problem in any way, nor do we need to accept bribes as we're well payed state officials. However. There is no independent authority to check on cases of police violence. Almost all charges against officers get dropped or don't go to court. Even though I haven't experienced it myself, I see this as a problem. However, this is a minor problem, considering how corrupt police forces of other countries can be.

Thanks and I think we may disagree on which way the scale goes.

Sorry, didn't read it correctly, I have corrected it.

Surprised this hasn't been asked. What is the highest speed you have clocked a car going on the Autobahn (personally experienced and heard from other colleagues) ?

194 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. 120 in a 50, to convert it for you. I remember it quite well. We didn't clock him but a camera got him. It is a 4 lane road so I can understand that you might think 80 km/h is a bit slow. But the road was just re-opened, and the pavement wasn't fully hardened yet. That's why there was an "80" sign virutally at every 100 meters. Because of that, and because the amount by how far he has exceeded the speed limit was so high, we wrote a report of intentional speeding. Intentional because of what I just explained to you. It means that the fine should be doubled.

Usually that means

1200€, 2 points on your license (you need 8 to lose it), 3 month driving ban (maybe more)

Can't tell you what was the outcome though. We do not process speeding tickets by ourself, we have a special office for traffic offenses. However... it's still quite cheap in Germany. In Switzerland you'd be in jail, your car would be impounded, you have to pay with your organs or surely a loan, and you'd never see your license again. Don't forget that it was more than double the limit.

120mph in a 50 zone is taking liberties! I was half expecting you to say 300+ km/h for the fastest that you have seen someone go at! Thanks for replying :)

Nah, people usually behave themselves when they know that there are no speed limit zones. So they usually stick to the limit, or somewhere near. Still, they speed, but they don't race on the Autobahn. In the last few years, Germany has toughened it's street racing laws. It can land you in jail now. And I know of two cases where people died after a street race. The survivors didn't get charged with manslaughter as usual, no, it's considered first-degree murder now.

In my experience the “keep right except to pass” rule is stricly followed in Germany, but not as much in other European countries. Do you experience that foreign drivers have a hard time following this rule?

No, honestly not. The nationality usually doesn't matter.

Well, I guess that after the first Mercedes coming at you with 200km/h in the rear view mirror, lights flashing, makes you pull right and stay there real fast.

That's a crime in Germany. Call the police (emergency number in Germany: 110) if he tries to push you out of his way with e.g. flashing lights. Coercion in traffic is not a joke. Call the police and tell them the details. Remember to try to remember the looks of the driver in your rear view mirror and his license plate.

He has to wait while you overtake. You have every right to overtake.

Is it true that there’s a possible maximum speed on the Autobahn, which is a speed so fast that it qualifies as dangerous driving, which is a separate offence? I heard it was 300kph.

So if I took my Koenigsegg and did 400kph at 3am with good conditions, would you try to pull me over?

I have cited the German Traffic Code in an other comment about speed. The speed must be reasonable and you are not allowed to endanger anybody. However, there is no number for that. But my guess would be that 400 km/h would not be road safe anymore.

Any idea why so many Arschlöcher virtually drive bumper to bumper behind me even if I'm overtaking somebody with 160km/h?

No, of course you don't. :) This behaviour just amazes me every time, as if I will go any faster (no) or push the car I am overtaking to the side so you can pass (no). Arschlöcher.

This is considered coercion (Nötigung). It endangers other motorists. Call 110 if they do that, you can file a complaint, this is a serious issue.

Ist es aber dann nicht mein Wort gegen seins?

Dashcams wären hilfreich. Ansonsten schau mal hier:

https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/noetigung-im-strassenverkehr-aussage-gegen-aussage/

Also sind Dashcams erlaubt? Wie ist es mit Datenschutz etc?

Ich bin kein Rechtsanwalt ich kann und darf dir da keine verbindlichen Auskünfte geben. Wichtig ist nur, dass die Kamera nicht 24/7 alles filmt und aufnimmt. Ich würde persönlich eine Kamera empfehlen, die nur auf Knopfdruck die letzte Minute speichert oder so. Und dann natürlich nicht veröffentlichen sondern nur für evtl. vor Gericht. Da aber wie gesagt dann mit Anwalt.

Macht sinn. Andere Frage, ich fahre 120 (mit Tempomat) auf der rechten Spur, das Genie auf der mittel Spur etwas langsamer, also fange ich an in Rechts zu überholen, mache ich da etwas Falsch?

Theoretisch ja. Praktisch schwierig. Theoretisch darfst du nicht rechts überholen. Du musst auf die ganz linke Spur, dort überholen, und dann zurück auf die rechte Spur.

Praktisch... weiß ich jetzt nicht, wie wahrscheinlich du deswegen wegen Rechtsüberholen angehalten wirst. Und ob ein guter Anwalt nicht sagen könnte, der auf der Mittelspur hat dich z.B. genötigt durch sein langsamfahren.

Also Theoretisch sollte ich abbremsen, den hinter mir fahrenden Verkehr behindern um dann nach ganz Links durchstarten. Wieso werden die Führerschein Prüfungen nicht einfach alle paar Jahre neu gemacht. Aber auf jeden Fall vielen Dank. Darf man fragen auf welchem teil der Autobahn in BW du unterwegs bist (Bei einer Kontrolle würde ich Siezen). Fahre relativ Oft München-Stuttgart-München, dann könnte ich mal Winken, ohne den Verkehr zu behindern.

Theoretisch solltest du das, ja. Wieso man den nicht erneuern muss? Weiß ich auch nicht. Politik eben.

So genau will ich nicht werden. Sagen wir mal Großraum Schweizer Grenze. Also nicht Stuttgart. Da bin ich wenn nur privat :)

When my goes zooming by you next weekend, can kindly just ignore her?

Your what?

My wife. Black Audi A7, Zürich tags. Thanks man!

Swiss people on the Autobahn are horrible

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That's something I honestly don't want to think about. I have seen them, it's the dark side of traffic policing.

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I recommend these three sources (in English of course) on DUI in Germany.

https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/german-driving-laws/#drunk_driving_and_drug_driving

https://www.spangdahlem.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/294611/what-you-dont-know-about-german-dui-law/

https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/expat2.html

I have looked up a statistic on your 2nd question.

Road traffic accidents with injured motorists on the German Autobahn 2017: 28.658

Reasons:

Safety distance too small: 8.730

Driving at unsafe speeds: 7.385

Not being able to handle a motor vehicle anymore (e.g. DUI): 1.914

Other reasons (e.g. failure to yield, texting and driving): 10.629

Well a friend of mine ignores the safety distance and is driving at unsafe speeds all the time, sometimes he's texting while doing it.... I should really reconsider riding with him again...

Maybe you should.