Speed limits?

[Guest web_norah]

the autobahn still rules though

since cars are expensive in Germany, you dont see buckets riding around town.....just flying machines

[Guest pod]

That's my side of the article. I feel bad that the lady died and all, but why was she in the fast lane, where cars twice her size and going three times as fast regularly cruise.

I did a little more research, and found that every few years, some politician makes a show of putting a limit on the autobahn, but it never passes. Germans love their cars too much.

The autobahn isn't 100% speed-free though. Certain sections have limits, especially near cities and in treacherous mountain areas.

Cops bust you for reckless driving though...and the tickets are based on your income...so if you earn a few mill a year, you pay like a hundred thousand mark fine for cutting someone off. As a result, it keeps even the most obnoxious German polite on the road...concurrently, you can be fined too for blocking traffic if you're driving a beater and you're holding up a line of Porsches, Mercs, and BMWs that want to cruise faster than your car can go.

Again, I don't think it could work over here...drivers are not taught well enough from the get-go. Hell, 90% of the time down here it seems to be a wink and a nod, a few hushed words in Spanish, and you've got your license.

During a US driving test, you really don't have to do a lot. Most European testing methods are quite involved, and cost a decent amount of money to obtain...the benefit is, the drivers are more educated, and public transit use is up, since it's so damn expensive to learn how to drive, nevermind upkeep and $4.00 a gallon gas.

[Guest web_norah]

yeah, obtaining a license in Germany is like their citizenship test, practically like a college SAT exam seems like ...not easy for most common folk...

i was very impressed and a little scared.

[Guest JMT]

german cars are built so much better for high speeds.

plus, they have much stricter laws for the condiditon of the car. no beaters allowed. you car has to be tip top to be on the road.

[Guest pod]

Exactly. I drove a total beater for two years. Those that know me well remember it...but for those that don't...basically, the right rear quadrant of the car looked as if someone loosed a howitzer on it...nevermind the fact that even without people, it sank alarmingly low in the back. Inside it was fairly plush and comfortable though.

I could drive it without a problem on Florida roads, the cops plain didn't care, and there's no inspections in Florida for much of anything.

[Guest web_norah]

one other thing, public transport is good in Germany & even people with the mintest of cars, ride the bus and train, they are very conscious about the environment

are we?

[ryan2772]

one other thing, public transport is good in Germany & even people with the mintest of cars, ride the bus and train, they are very conscious about the environment

are we?

of course we're not, don't be silly.

[Guest web_norah]

i am not trying to be silly, raising a point more like it

[ryan2772]

i am not trying to be silly, raising a point more like it

i know!  i was being sarcastic...

i think it's horrible how we abuse our environment. i majored in enviro studies & geography in college. ;D

[Guest ciaran_r]

In Ireland We have a lot of road deaths for the size of the country, >

Penalty points were introduced to cut it down, and it has worked.

But our insurance is unbelievable, its so expensive for a male to have insurance, if your young first time driver with your own car, its gonna cost you a lot of money :-[

[tgibson]

This thread is very interesting because it touches on a weird point that I have often pondered...

If the speed limit is a maximum of 70 anywhere in the U.S. - why do they allow cars to be sold that go 120? Or motorbikes that go 200? Both of these are clearly in violation of laws anywhere in the country...unless you are on a racetrack, there is no LEGAL place for you to be able to go to use your death machine... (I don't know the stats, but auto accidents MUST be one of the biggest killers every year).

Let me get this out first and foremost...I like driving...and fast...this is just more of a discussion point....here goes...

(1) I guess you would still have to have big engines or whatever to get the acceleration needed, just have a cap on the maximum speed a car could go.

(2) Big auto and big oil would lose out if this were to happen, so I think you see one reason right there why something like this has never been proposed...

THEREFORE,

Given that they allow the fast vehicles to be sold, does this not imply that you should be able to use them? (at least they are tacitly implying that you can...) I wonder when the first lawsuit will come out against the gov't for allowing fast cars to be sold!

[Guest pod]

That question has been around forever, that if it is illegal to go past 75-80 in most states, why are cars sold with the power to do so? Grant it, you need the power to do things like passing, going up hills, and towing things...but a simple engine governor would disallow speeding...but a governor is easy to disable...USMC Humvees had 'em, but it could be disabled in about 2 minutes.

I don't see governors being put on civil vehicles though.

[tgibson]

That question has been around forever, that if it is illegal to go past 75-80 in most states, why are cars sold with the power to do so? Grant it, you need the power to do things like passing, going up hills, and towing things...but a simple engine governor would disallow speeding...but a governor is easy to disable...USMC Humvees had 'em, but it could be disabled in about 2 minutes.

I don't see governors being put on civil vehicles though.

The only counter to that is that IF people really cared at all about curbing all the accidents caused by speeding they would be able to figure out a way to regulate the governors...don't you think?

I love conspiracy theories...don't get me started...

[Guest pod]

Well, with AVC systems coming online in the next decade, I don't see a need for engine governors. The computers responsible for controlling traffic will drive your car faster and better than you ever could. Face it, unless you're in law enforcement, the Secret Service, or F1 racing, you probably can't drive worth a damn. ;D

[Guest saintjohn]

in the past, i've attended a high-performance driving school, driven on the autobahn, et cetera, and today i drive a big, slow, heavy suv. why? because no matter how skillful you are, there's no way to avoid someone who runs rear-ends your econocar while you're sitting at a red light in the middle of a school zone (happened to two friends last week). i'll gladly suck up more than my share of the earth's precious resources if it significantly increases my odds of surviving such an event (note to online environmentalists: unless you've ever gone door-to-door canvassing for greenpeace, i don't even want to hear about it). besides, driving a low-performance vehicle is a good way to avoid those costly speeding tickets.

finally, if you think south florida is bad, try driving in paris for a few weeks . . .

[Guest JMT]

Exactly. I drove a total beater for two years. Those that know me well remember it...but for those that don't...basically, the right rear quadrant of the car looked as if someone loosed a howitzer on it...nevermind the fact that even without people, it sank alarmingly low in the back. Inside it was fairly plush and comfortable though.

do you remember that old SNL commercial skit with Phil Hartman were they were selling a beater that was like a Rolls Royce inside?

"...standard features are a bent coat hanger as an antenna.... missing hubcaps, with one rear mismatched hubcap in school bus yellow...."

LOL, that was a classic skit!

[Guest JMT]

one other thing, public transport is good in Germany & even people with the mintest of cars, ride the bus and train, they are very conscious about the environment

are we?

gas costs like 4 bucks a gallon there.

[Guest willnole]

do you remember that old SNL commercial skit with Phil Hartman were they were selling a beater that was like a Rolls Royce inside?

"...standard features are a bent coat hanger as an antenna.... missing hubcaps, with one rear mismatched hubcap in school bus yellow...."

LOL, that was a classic skit!

The Chameleon. Great sketch.

When they try to mock the lexus commercial by rolling the ball bearing down the cars line and it falls into a rusted hole. Great stuff.

[Guest JMT]

The Chameleon. Great sketch.

When they try to mock the lexus commercial by rolling the ball bearing down the cars line and it falls into a rusted hole. Great stuff.

LMFAO!!!!! yep, thats it, i couldnt remember the name. ;D ;D ;D

[ryan2772]

man, phil hartman was a comedic genius. i came pretty close to crying when he died. :'(

[Guest JMT]

man, phil hartman was a comedic genius.  i came pretty close to crying when he died. :'(

you got that right jack.

same here.

[Guest willnole]

He was the best charachter the yever had. He could play anyone perfectly. His Frank Sinatra alone is priceless.