I've always half assumed the autobahn is littered with crankshaft and connecting rod chunks, various pools of oil and coolant, and the various now worthless vehicles they came from. Oh, and many tire marks that lead right into barriers.
Well it's nice not to have a speed limit, but every time I see one, it's such a sigh of relief.
Story time:
Not so long ago, I was on that 4 or 5 lane autobahn before arriving to Munich. I was already dark, overtaking some car, leaving the most left line empty. Then these laser high beams basically illuminating the nearby Alps. I was thinking geez I'm doing 160, relax dude, you have a free lane here. I moved to the right, 2 lanes to my left are now free. Car flies by me, doing probably like 50-70 more than I, AND, AND this guy gets overtaken by another one with about the same speed difference relative to the guy doing 210-230.
Which is probably why they were freaking out trying to get you to move. Don't get me wrong it's been fun when I drove the autobahns as a tourist trying my best to respect the unwritten (and written) rules, and pushing my car like I can't do elsewhere, but god damn was it bad for my blood pressure!
The US drivers could not handle the German traffic rules, punishments and technical checks for their vehicles. Over half of the vehicles in the USA would fail the Dekra and TÜV inspections.
Absolutely! So many incredibly bad drivers and so many garbage cars. Never seen so many broken down cars along a highway. And all the shredded tires. Makes me glad to have something like the TÜV, even though it can be annoying at times.
Yep, poor people need cars to survive in the US. Barely any public transport outside of the very biggest cities. Only richer people can replace their rusty cars every 10 years.
Well, the idea is to maintain the car and not just chug it out after 10 years. If you do this, then you shouldn't fail a bi-annual test that determines whether your car is safe for the road or not.
I moved to Germany 2 years ago, and was afraid of highways being like Mad Max, but I was positively surprised.
Most drivers are very attentive and skilled, keeping the rules, driving safe. I like it much better, than Eastern EU, where people are also going 150+, and are being assholes in the meantime. The upper limit of 130 just puts stress on me, because I obey the laws, but the giant SUV in my ass flashing their highbeams does not. In Germany this barely happens to me, most drivers are polite and safe, even in expensive sports cars.
I really came to enjoy the liberating feeling of driving at my own (and the traffic’s) pace on the autobahn. Yesterday I was travelling between Dusseldorf and Berlin, long open stretches of 3-lane roads, with only a few cars around. I was going around 200, yet I saw a car far behind me coming up fast, some polite flashes of lights from the distance, I pull to the right, and let a Porsche pass me quickly.
I might sound like a carbrain, but I’m not. Everybody should try German highways once, so they can form their own opinion, and not judge based on internet memes. I feel 10x safer on the autobahn, than on some shitty Eastern EU highway with a bunch of apes around me, who don’t care about the rules.
200 kph is 9,500 mph, for us Americans.
What the hell is that figure, it's 125mph
Either way it makes a whoosh sound as it goes by
It’s hyperbole. He’s saying you’re driving so fast it might as well be the speed of sound.
because I obey the laws
flashes of lights from the distance, I pull to the right
Doesn't sound like you were obeying the Rechtsfahrgebot.
Driving at those speeds uses exponentially more fuel. RIP planet earth :(
regarding the legality of breaking the sound barrier:
if i remember correctly there’s is an indirect general speedlimit, because any vehicle moving below a certain height is not allowed to go beyond 400 something kph. now this is intended for planes and helicopters and such, but afaik also applies to cars. therefore breaking the sound barrier, sadly, would be illegal. besides, i think breaking the sound barrier is limited to certain zones anyways.
i’m not trying to nitpick on the joke, but rather give supplementary information that may be interesting.
Plus there's noise limits.
It's more like if you drive too fast you're not insured. Oh, by the way, road works, 80km/h. Aaaand you're free again! Have f- oh no, roadworks again, 80 pls. Ok done. Now you can really hit the gas! Joke, roadworks again haha, 80! Finally done, now we promise we don't have roadworks anymore, enjoy! Aaaand welcome to the Netherlands, 100 please.
Oh, by the way, road works, 80km/h. Aaaand you’re free again! Have f- oh no, roadworks again, 80 pls. Ok done. Now you can really hit the gas! Joke, roadworks again haha, 80! Finally done, now we promise we don’t have roadworks anymore, enjoy! Aaaand welcome to the Netherlands, 100 please.
If that isn't the most accurate description of driving through Germany, I don't know what is :D
Ironically, Germany is the only country where I’ve gotten speeding tickets on the highway when driving through Europe east to west or vice versa. I’m still not entirely sure whether it was because of road works, the fact that I had a (small) trailer, or something else.
For trailers, there is a general speed limit of 80km/h, unless the trailer is suitably equipped and officially approved for 100km/h and is towed by a suitable vehicle. (Here, the specifics get complicated, because Germany) Trailers capable of driving at 100km/h must be marked at the rear with a sticker.
With a trailer you're limited to 80kph (or 100kph im some cases)
And police is setting also setting up "distance traps" on the Autobahn, you can get a ticket (or even lose your license) for tailgating.
if you drive too fast you’re not insured
I explicitly asked my insurance company (verbally, not a chatbot) about this last time I went to Germany. They said as long as I'm not breaking any laws, my insurance is valid. No speed limit means there is no "too fast to be insured".
It's more like if you drive too fast you're not insured.
First time I ever heard this. You lose insurance? What?
Yeah, you are allowed to drive as fast as you like on some Autobahns, but if you have an accident and your speed is deemed to be faster than safe, the insurance companies are like "nah bro, you brought this on yourself"
Jokes aside you are only allowed to drive as fast as is safe for those around you
There is no one around me. They are all behind me.
Yes I am a BMW driver. How could you tell?
Because it's a 1-lane road, you're going 20 under the limit and refuse to use any turnouts.
Well it's midnight with no street lights, it's super foggy, and the roads are icy as fuck.
But your headlights are still bright enough to melt everyone else's retinas
Just make sure you respect the Rechtsfahrgebot
Yeah. The left lane is not intended for people going below 250 kph. Source: The Mercedes/BMW/Porsche that has been tailgating me and honking at me for going 200 kph only.
So it's a good time to say it once more, a lot of this is based on myths, not knowledge.
Having no speed limit is a really bad thing for both the environnement AND for public safety.
https://www.datawrapper.de/blog/the-case-for-speed-limits and so many more examples.
German here. It is true that yes, there are some parts of the German highway where there is no official speed limit. But often times, be it through traffic or speed limits, you can't drive that fast.
Germans any other time: obey the rule no matter how bad
If there is no rule to obey there is no problem. But the majority of Germans (60 percent was the last number I heard) is actually for the introduction of a speed limit.
But this topic is kind of like discussions about gun laws in the US. So hardly any party picks it up. Especially not the current government parties.
germans: famous for their hating the rules
Bit of both actually, the way that Germans drive is kind of an example for the rest of Europe. I'm sure that high fines have a lot to do with it but many of the best driving habits in my country came from Germany.
The fines are low compared to where I live. One of the precious pictures of my wife is her getting cought speeding in Germany and realizing it at the same time.
Can't stop laughing everytime I look at the picture they sent us with the speeding ticket.
It was surely worth the 15 euro fine.
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A collection of some classic Lemmy memes for your enjoyment
