Bundesstraße
One distinguishing characteristic between German "Bundesstraßen" and "Autobahnen" is that there usually is a general 100 km/h (62 mph) speed limit on federal highways out of built-up areas, as opposed to the merely advisory speed limit ("Richtgeschwindigkeit") of 130 km/h (83 mph) in unmarked sections of the autobahns. However, a number of "Bundesstraßen" have been extended as expressways (dual carriageways) (colloquially called "Yellow Autobahns"). Many of these have speed limits of usually 100–120 km/h, others have only an advisory speed limit like autobahns. Most sections of the federal highways are only single carriageway with one lane for each direction and no hard shoulder pull-out area.
Accident on the Bundesautobahn 5
The Accident on the Bundesautobahn 5 occurred on 14 July 2003 close to Karlsruhe, Germany, when a young mother lost control of her car on Bundesautobahn 5 and collided with a tree. The 21-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter died at the scene. The accident and the following judicial proceeding received nationwide attention after eyewitnesses stated that another vehicle had closed the gap to her from behind with excessive speed and caused the accident. The case was known in the media as "Autobahnraser-Fall" ("motorway speeder case") and sparked a debate about setting a general speed limit on German motorways, which are generally without a legally mandated limit.