Based on highway-legislation road maintenance-authorities of Federal and State Road administrations in Germany agreed on an uniform level of service for road winter maintenance. The policy of level of service designates different quality-standards of service and driving conditions, depending on the category and function of a road and on certain weather- and winter-conditions. This policy furthermore takes into consideration the aim of minimizing harmful effects to the environment, compatibility with working time regulations of the maintenance personal and implementation of road winter maintenance at reasonable costs. Motorways (so called Autobahnen) in Germany today carry more than 40 per cent of the entire traffic volume of classified, rural highways and roads, although they represent only about 5 per cent of the total length of this road network. Maintaining traffic safety, optimum driving conditions and a high capacity of motorways all around the year, even during winter season is of great importance for the economy and in general for the driving public. As a consequence of an expected enormous increase of traffic in future time the quality of winter maintenance has to meet even rising standards. Winter maintenance in Germany has already reached a high level. Nevertheless, not only because of budgetary reasons, great efforts are necessary to utilize all potential improvements to increase effectivity by appropriate measures. The measures discussed in the paper are the result of experience and problem-analysis in winter maintenance practice especially in the State of Bavaria. Bavaria has the most areas in Germany with harsh climatic winter road conditions. Proposed strategies to pursue the striven aim include for example: (1) Organizational measures, such as utilizing extended road weather information systems, the prewetted salt technology and optimizing the management of personal and equipment; (2) construction measures such as de-icing agent spraying systems and precautionary traffic regulations; and (3) communicative measures by optimization of telecommunication among those responsible and involved in winter maintenance operations, especially the police forces, and by better especially current information and warnings for the road users. Particular measures after occurrence of traffic congestion and collapses, when winter maintenance activities reach their limits, with the aim to get traffic moving again, optimize drivers information service and to assist those drivers, trapped in long term traffic congestion's by relief services to reduce their impairment.