Tailgating in Germany: the distance rules and fines
The fine depends on your speed and on how many metres you left, compared with half the number on your speedometer.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Gap: half the speedometer in practice
Total including fees
€103.50
| Legal reference (half the speedometer) | 60 m |
| BKat number | 12.6.1 |
| Points | 1 |
| Driving ban | none |
German traffic law expects a gap large enough to stop if the car ahead brakes suddenly, and fine authorities measure it with the "halber Tacho" rule: half your speed in metres, so 50 metres at 100 km/h and 65 metres at 130 km/h, which works out at about 1.8 seconds at any speed. Tailgating up to 80 km/h costs 25 euros, 30 euros with danger to others and 35 euros with property damage. Above 80 km/h you pay 35 euros as long as the gap is at least a quarter of your speed in metres. Below that, Table 2 of the fine catalogue applies: 75 to 400 euros depending on speed and on how many tenths of the half-speed gap you kept, always with points. Above 100 km/h and under three tenths, a driving ban (Fahrverbot) of one to three months and two points follow. Drivers on probation commit an A offence with any tailgating entry that carries a point.
Where the rule comes from
Section 4 of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) only says your gap must let you stop if the vehicle ahead brakes suddenly. The fine catalogue (BKatV) turns this into numbers by using half your speedometer reading in metres. At 100 km/h that is 50 metres, at 160 km/h 80 metres. Do the arithmetic and you get roughly 1.8 seconds of travel at every speed, which is why the familiar two-second rule from many driving courses keeps you on the safe side.
A practical way to check it on the Autobahn: pick a fixed point such as a roadside post, a sign or a bridge, and start counting when the car ahead passes it. Counting seconds is far easier than estimating metres at speed. If you reach two before your own car passes the same point, your gap meets the rule at any speed.
Up to 80 km/h and just over
At up to 80 km/h, tailgating costs €25 (catalogue no. 12.1), €30 if you endangered someone (12.2) and €35 if there was damage (12.3). These are warning fines: no fees, no points, nothing on the Flensburg register.
Above 80 km/h, a gap below half the speed but still at least a quarter of it costs €35 under no. 12.4, again without a point. Only when the gap drops below a quarter of your speed in metres does the table begin, split into three speed bands: over 80, over 100 and over 130 km/h.
Table 2 in full
This is the official table from the appendix to the fine catalogue ordinance. "Five tenths of half the speed" is the same as a quarter of the speed; one tenth at 100 km/h is just five metres.
| Gap | over 80 km/h | over 100 km/h | over 130 km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| less than 5/10 of half the speed | €75, 1 point 12.5.1 | €75, 1 point 12.6.1 | €100, 1 point 12.7.1 |
| less than 4/10 of half the speed | €100, 1 point 12.5.2 | €100, 1 point 12.6.2 | €180, 1 point 12.7.2 |
| less than 3/10 of half the speed | €160, 1 point 12.5.3 | €160, 2 points, 1 month FV 12.6.3 | €240, 2 points, 1 month FV 12.7.3 |
| less than 2/10 of half the speed | €240, 1 point 12.5.4 | €240, 2 points, 2 months FV 12.6.4 | €320, 2 points, 2 months FV 12.7.4 |
| less than 1/10 of half the speed | €320, 1 point 12.5.5 | €320, 2 points, 3 months FV 12.6.5 | €400, 2 points, 3 months FV 12.7.5 |
The pattern matters for anyone who drives long distances. Between 80 and 100 km/h, often the speed of lorry traffic and roadworks, there is no ban even at the closest tier, though the fine reaches €320. Above 100 km/h, a ban starts at less than 3 tenths. Above 130 km/h, where there is no general speed limit on many motorway sections, the fines are higher at every tier while the ban lengths stay the same.
Worked examples
| Speed | Gap | Half speed | No. | Fine | Points | Ban |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 km/h | 20 m | 45 m | 12.5.1 | €75 | 1 | none |
| 120 km/h | 20 m | 60 m | 12.6.2 | €100 | 1 | none |
| 110 km/h | 15 m | 55 m | 12.6.3 | €160 | 2 | 1 month |
| 140 km/h | 15 m | 70 m | 12.7.3 | €240 | 2 | 1 month |
| 140 km/h | 10 m | 70 m | 12.7.4 | €320 | 2 | 2 months |
The examples show how quickly a small change in metres moves you up a tier. At 110 km/h, five metres less (from 20 to 15) is the difference between €100 with no ban and €160 with a month off the road.
Cut-ins, convoys and what counts
Not every brief moment too close is an offence. Case law generally requires the short gap to have lasted over a certain distance. If a car pulls into your lane just ahead of you, your gap shrinks without any fault on your side, and you are expected to drop back, not to be fined on the spot. What the authorities pursue is the driver who sits a few metres behind someone for a long stretch, typically in the left lane, to push them aside.
Drivers from the UK or Ireland, used to slower motorway speeds, sometimes underestimate how fast the gap closes when a car ahead at 120 km/h is approached from 180 km/h. Speed differences on unrestricted sections can be large, and the halber Tacho rule is calculated on your own speed, not on the difference. Points from any of these offences go onto the same Flensburg register as any other; the guide to Flensburg points explains when they add up to a warning and when they expire.
A short note on rented and company cars: the hearing form goes to the keeper, who passes it on to whoever was driving. For a lease or company car, that usually means the fleet office forwards the letter to you, and the clock for your reply starts when you receive it.
Points, bans and probation
Every row of Table 2 without a ban carries one point; every row with a ban carries two, as listed in annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance. A ban of one, two or three months follows the general rules on the driving ban page, including the option to choose when it starts if you had no ban in the previous two years.
If you are in the first 2 years of driving, or moved to Germany with a recent EU licence, any of these point-carrying entries is an A offence under annex 12. That means a remedial course and longer probation, explained on the probationary licence page.
Lorries, buses and the driver in front
Lorries over 3.5 tonnes and buses must keep at least 50 metres on the motorway above 50 km/h; failing to do so costs €80 and a point. Outside towns, slower vehicles with their own speed limit and combinations longer than seven metres must leave room for overtaking cars to pull in on single-lane roads, or pay €25.
The person in front has duties too. Braking hard without a compelling reason costs €20 with danger and €30 with damage. Germans have a word for aggressive tailgating, Drängeln, and it is taken seriously: pressing up behind a slower car in the left lane does not make your own short gap lawful, even if that driver should have moved over.
Gap: half the speedometer in practice
Total including fees
€103.50
| Legal reference (half the speedometer) | 60 m |
| BKat number | 12.6.1 |
| Points | 1 |
| Driving ban | none |
The notice and the fees
Tailgating is usually recorded on motorways, and the method used appears in the case file. The notice names the catalogue number, so you can see which tier the authority applied. Above €55, fees under Section 107 of the Administrative Offences Act are added: five per cent of the fine, at least €25, plus €3.50 for delivery. If you were also speeding in the same act, only the higher fine applies and may be raised under Section 3(5) BKatV; the speeding fines page shows those bands.
The fine calculator works out your total from speed and metres. An objection (Einspruch) must reach the authority within 2 weeks of delivery, and since July 2026 a traffic offence becomes time-barred after six months unless that period is interrupted.