If There Were No Speed Limit...

[Tom_Foolery]

how fast would you be comfortable going? I watched a show on the History Channel yesterday about the Autobahn. There was a guy testing out a Porche. He got it up to 212 mph.

[Jumbo]

1. As fast as the other drivers

It is too dangerous to drive to slow or to fast in flow of traffic.

[bobthedrummer]

2. LOL!

[Jumbo]

3. What is so funny?

You know you act pretty immature for someone who is 54.

[DS1]

4. He's allowed to

He lives in the US mother fucking A

[bobthedrummer]

5. ROTF

[Jumbo]

6. I didn't say he wasn't allowed to

He's just not allowed to drive 20 mph above the given speed limit whenever he damn well feels like it.

[DS1]

9. Why are you so angry?

[Jumbo]

10. Because he was caught going 20 mph

Close to my home(I-43). I'm angry because I fear that me and my daughter could've been on the same road with him.

[bobthedrummer]

15. Message deleted

eom

[demsrule4life]

7. I spent 20 years in Germany

And I normally drove around 85 MPH. Yes cars and motorcycles would pass me by like I was standing still. Now the autobahns are getting to crowded to drive as fast as you want. There is now a law if you are doing over 130 KPH and get into an accident you are partially at fault even if someone else caused it. My wife was involved in an accident where a guy was driving 160 KPH in the fast lane, a guy in the middle lane crossed into the fast lane to pass another car, the guy doing 160 kph hit his brakes, lost control, crossed over three lanes and hit my wife. My wife sustained some bruises and scratches, two of our dogs were killed. Since the guy was doing over 160 kph he ended up paying for the dogs, $10,000 and replacing the van.

[Jumbo]

8. I sure hope bobthedrummer reads this post

It could've been much worse, I'm glad your wife survived.

[demsrule4life]

11. Thanks

She and the girl she was with was very lucky. Took my wife a couple of years before her driving returned to "normal".

[On the Road]

12. There are Some Hair-Raising Drivers in Germany

When I was 15, my family visited some relatives in the Schwartzwald. I remember driving on a two-lane highway with no shoulder and three cars in front of us. Going down a mountain around a blind curve, the middle car passed the first. At the same time, the rear car pulled around and passed both.

I am truly surprised Germany was not been completely depopulated by driving like this.

[demsrule4life]

14. The Germans can

drive, plus they follow the rules of the road. Alabama has a higher death rate on the roads every year then Germany does.

[Kellanved]

22. heh - yup, it can seem that way

Even in Germany aggressive driving is getting criticized more frequently. With virtues like using the turn indicators fading, the high speed driving is getting more risky. The recent case of a Mercedes Test-Driver shocking a young mother and her child to death sparked a new debate on the driving on German roads. However the death toll is actually relatively low.

For tourists I can only say: don't drive fast, unless you know how and your car is built for it. Nobody can force you to go faster than 130 kph, stay to the right and keep your distance.

[Kellanved]

13. usually around 180 kp/h

i.e. 110 mp/h.
That is a good speed on the Autobahn, although there are many people going 250 kp/h and over.

Please note that the Autobahn is not as scary as an interstate would be at the speed. The curves are longer, the lanes broader and the road condition is better. And of course there are long acceleration lines at every entry.
Not to mention that there are *very* strict rules on the Autobahn - like mandatory vehicle check ups every two years, the rule to always use the rightmost lane possible and the rule that other vehicles may only be passed on the left side.

Getting a driving license is thus quite expensive: the absolute minimum is 12 hours practical training (5 hours country driving, four hours Autobahn, three hours night driving), 10 theoretical lessons with 90 minutes each and as many hours city traffic as the instructor deems necessary. To actually get a license both, a practical and a theoretical exam, have to be passed; especially the practical exam has a high percentage of failed students. All in all a driving license usually costs around €1500, but it can easily be far more.

Well, I had the pleasure ( ) to drive on US Interstates last week, and IMHO they are far more scary than the Autobahn at any speed.

[Exultant Democracy]

16. yes the US interstates are a mess

If I was a cop I would enforce a lot of the "smaller" rules, for example the people that just cruse down the center lane even though they are moving slowly all need to get pulled over and told how to drive.

[ScrewyRabbit]

17. Totally agree

I've driven a fair bit in Germany and the UK. American driver's education is really inadequate. And European drivers are, on the whole, much more respectful of both the law and other drivers. I wouldn't trust my countrymen with a license to drive over current speed limits.

[Kellanved]

18. actually I don't trust mine either

I even would support a 120 kp/h limit, like in most European countries. However the "Freie Fahrt für freie Bürger" (Free driving for free citizens) parole is an important part of the German mindset and no party really wants to risk the wrath of the speeders.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

19. Well I've already gone 140

So I think I could make it to 200 feeling comfortable so long as the road I was one was built for those speeds and the car I was driving was street safe at that speed.

[Syncronaut Seven]

20. I'm quite comfortable in my '02 Neon

at 85-100 Mph. The drawback with the Neon is it's so aerodynamic that it doesn't slow down very fast when you take your foot off the gas. Means you actually have to hit the brakes when you smell Highway Patrol.

My older BMW 325e is so deceptively smooth & stable it's not uncommon to find myself unknowingly doing 100+ after a pass.

In contrast, my '85 Sentra causes white knuckle syndrome well before it tops out at 93 Mph.

[MAlibdem]

21. 90-95

Though I have friends who prefer the 105-110 range.

[Deja Q]

23. 70mph MAX

I prefer 55-65. Uses less gas.