Autobahn

Post #7,570 by kmself 9/3/01 12:50:26 PM Reply	Autobahn I'm not so sold on the Autobahn. Traffic densities are generally quite high. German drivers are incredibly aggressive, and the expectation is that there is a righ to speed, though to their credit, the "fast lane" is a passing lane, and there is no tendency to lane hogging that's so common in the US (don't get me started on midwest drivers) is gone. What you've got to worry about is the speed differentials. Trucks are restricted to 110 km/h, meaning they're doing about 65 MPH. I found 140 km/h was a comfortable speed (85 MPH -- about what I drive in the US, given open highway), which was about normal, though the fast lane traffic was far above this, with 200 kph (120 MPH) not uncommon. Problem is when there's a traffic slowdown, and these come from several causes. Speed is restricted in urban areas. Speed limits are dynamically set to road conditions (not altogether a bad thing), indicated by electronic signs on the highway, but this means you can't count on knowing the speed limit for a given stretch of road. Worst is when there's some sort of tie-up. Traffic goes from current speed (65, 85, 120 mph) to a crawl, in seconds. This is where horrific accidents occur, Germany's notorious for families being wiped out in an instant on the highways. Stories of trucks jacknifed across highways and cars running underneath them.... It's interesting, but a bit high-tension for my tastes. Nevada state route 375 is an entirely different issue. -- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?
Post #7,576 by tonytib 9/3/01 4:46:26 PM Reply	Don't agree -- for aggressive drivers, try driving in Spain they'll honk their horns and blink their lights in a heartbeat, even if you can't move. But that doesn't matter to them. And, driving in Madrid is totally unlike anything in Germany, or here. OTOH, as long as I passed and then got over, the faster German drivers slowed down and didn't tailgate. In Spain or some people here, well, they'd be a lot more aggressive. Overall, the Germans were much better at merging, too (one of my pet peeves in California). Yes, there were some rapid slow downs -- and often use of emergency blinkers by the cars in front to indicate them. But, you get that here, everyday -- of course, if you're a local you know where they're likely to be, but that's try anywhere. I saw a lot of areas with posted speed limits, and many areas don't have electronic signs -- IIRC that was in more congested areas. Traffic densities vary all over the place; for example, Stuttgart to Karlsruhe was quite high, but many areas it's pretty low (most areas outside the major cities) although still much higher than many parts of the US. It's definitely more stressfull than long distance US driving, and I don't think German style driving would work here -- partly because I think a large country is better suited to more relaxed driving (US style) and partly because people already think driving is a right so there's no way to change to the German system (where a licence costs around $500 and you have to go to driving school). However, I still think it would be good to seriously upgrade driver education and testing requirements. This would be a much better use of money than most other things the states spend their money on. There are way too many people on the road who simply don't have a clue. Tony
Post #7,595 by boxley 9/3/01 9:08:21 PM Reply	huh, sounds like going to san fran from reno "Traffic goes from current speed (65, 85, 120 mph) to a crawl, in seconds." One of my all time fav roads is the 395 from the LA cutoff to reno, during a weekday. light traffic enough twists to scream and petal to the medal with a wizz break in the middle. thanx, bill Our bureaucracy and our laws have turned the world into a clean, safe work camp. We are raising a nation of slaves. Chuck Palahniuk

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