I hear ya DrCloud.

And Dave, very wise words! Because I'm a motorcyclist I have established my own rule of the road, it's like your tip, but a little shorter. "Never ride beside." And this rule has played dividends in my CRX-SiR before too. As that car only has about 2" of ground clearance it is very low. I have had pick up drivers try to drive right into my lane because I imagine when they looked to see if the lane was open they looked right over the top of the car...

I remember reading a news story where a mechanic had the outer ring of a truck wheel fail, and when that component of the multi-piece wheel came loose it decapitated him due to the tire pressure that was contained inside. Nasty stuff.

 

Great link Matt. Thanks. I felt like I was in the drivers seat.

 

Sadly with you about the accident death rates reaching an all time high. But, it does not have to be that way.

On your second point about having different speed limits for trucks than cars or motorcycles the Germans have got that under control. Many of the stretches of the Autobahn are NO PASSING zones for trucks. They VERY Strickly enforce this law, as most others. I remember on our first trip to Germany going up a mountain pass on a two lane (each way) stretch of Autobahn with one of their double barriers separating the one coming traffic a little over a meter away. It was quite an intense experience. Trucks lumbering up the grade at about 45 MPH, cars in the left lane passing them at a speed differential of about 65 MPH. I remembering just hoping that the truckers took this keep right law seriously. One the other side of the guard rail in the opposing left hand lane, vehicles are whipping by with a closing speed of over two hundred miles per hour. It took some getting use to.

But, the think that has always cracked me up with driving the Autobahn is cruising along at the fairly comfortable pace of about 180 KPH (about 113 MPH) as two of my co-workers start screaming like three year old girls when I reached 200 KPH (126 MPH) in the right lane as a Mercedes is closing on you quickly and your glance over to realize that you have just been passed by a "blue haired" Grand Mother doing a 145 MPH.

With that stated: The reality is that they have a lowest accident death rate per miles driven of any country in the world. There is a lesson to be learned from that.

Doug Toms, the Secretary of Transportation back in the early seventies had a plan to create a Master Driver program. This was not based on the ability to afford it, but based on one's ability to prove that they were a "Master" of driving skils. This would address not having to build separate road ways, but giving the skilled driver the ability to drive with in their means on everyday roads in a matter that they deemed fit based on conditions. What a great theory. Until one considers that in a AAA survey of drivers, eighty-five percent of American drivers considered themselves about average drivers.

 

Ahhh, the Autobahn! Fond memories of when I was 23 on a 2 week hostel tour of Europe. I took a 24hour rental of a BMW 740i - the new 12 cylinder model - from Frankfurt to Munich. Twice I hit the governed 254kph (or was it 252? No matter.. north of 155mph.), and usually was cruising about 130mph.

I remember spending the first 20 minutes or so getting a feel for the car. Traffic was moderately heavy, and no one was going much over 90 or so. Then, the freeway split, and prett much all the traffic went one way, I went the other. It was a long, slightly sloped straight stretch of road. I accelerated pretty quickly, must have been up to about 130mph, when a black Mercedes blew past me like I was standing still! There was no way I could keep up - I think he was well over 150 as he passed.... Whew...

Lane discipline is the #1 factor behind their safety record, I believe. It would take a generation of training to get the American driving public up to that standard.

One thing I remember is how early you need to take notice of your exit signs - 5km ahead is barely enough to check your speed & move over for the exit......

JonasM

 

as my previous post suggest (No truck drag races up the hills there). But it extends beyond that. They just take driving so much more seriously there. No one multi-tasks behind the wheel. No cup holders (that is a U.S. version of a German car). It is illegal for anyone in the car to be talking on a mobile phone while it is moving. The thought is, that it would be too easy for the driver to hand a phone to a passenger and state that the passenger was talking. Unless they have changed this law since my last trip in 2002, it is forbodden.

It is a shame that due to traffic congestion that so little of the Autobahn still has the famous //// within the circle signs signalling the unlimited strecthes (about 15% of the total mileage that are left).