I cannot cite, but I read somewhere that above a certain speed the consequences of loss of control increase all out of proportion to the speed diff.
Half my family lives in Germany.
Their highways and general level of driver education are so far above ours technically that there's almost no comparison and even with Porches doing 150+ mixing it up with tandem tractor-trailers pulling out to pass at 45 they *claim* a lower freeway fatality rate than the US'.
But I lay virtually all of that to driver training and infrastructure because when they do have a pileup, it tends to be horrendous. Newscasts tend tb in the vein of "Between 7 and 10 people were killed, the exact number pending an inventory of body parts."
I have and not having gone to driving school over there or even being able to understand German, have had to guess at the rules.
There seem tb three cardinal rules. I'm sure there are plenty more, but these three really jump out at me:
1) Always have your turn signal on when changing lanes or crossing any sort of lane marker.
Putting it on while changing doesn't count. Stand by an area where a truck is parked such that cars have to cross the center line and you can see them - car-after-car - flip on the turn signal before they cross the line.
2) Always, always yield the lane to closing traffic.
If they have to slow down, you didn't yield fast enough and the offended driver is obligated to flash their high beams repeatedly, scream, curse, and (if conditions permit) shake their fist out the window.
3) Never, ever, for any reason, under any circumstances pass on the right.
This makes adherence to #2 a lot easier. You pass somebody, flip the signal on, pick your opening, and ease back in the lane... Yeah, you look... but there's never anybody there - the knuckleheads that speed up when somebody "tries to cut them off" having been removed from the gene pool by some unknown mechanism.
When I was there, everybody seemed tb playing by the same rules, things may have deteriorated by now with the EU and so many more drivers from other countries....
Start a thread in a driver-related forum on the proper way to come down an on-ramp and merge with freeway traffic and you'll soon see that there is substantial lack of agreement on driving practices in the USA and near-fanatical adherence to opposing ideas of what the rules are.
All that being said, my German relatives (motorheads all...) express relief at how much less stressful it is to drive in the USA than in Germany.
Never drove in German, buy I have driven frequently in Italy. They don't drink coffee and put on makeup. They stay to the right. They drive faster than the US, but I feel safer
About a year ago there was a legal case here in CT. Couple was thrown from the Mercedes convertible after crashing into a tree and the man died. Police could not determine the driver. His family tried to say she was driving and sued her. Woman gave her defense. "I could not have been driving, I was giving him a BJ at the time of the accident"
Yup. I do 3k mile road trip at least once a year. See it all the time in the left lane. I stay in the right lane to avoid the tailgate crowd. Usually tucked about 2-300' behind a steady going semi doing
5-10 over. Nice that trucks use cruise now. Haven't driven in Texas for years, but the Edens x-way (I-94) was the fastest local road I drove, with big groups at 85 being pretty common. Limit is 55. The one that always took the prize was I-75 right through downtown Atlanta in the daytime. Limit 55. I've been in groups doing 90-95 and we were getting passed. Never could figure that out. Last couple years has been real close to 5-10 over. And lots more mars lights.
Hi, I would be lying if I did not sweat when I first drove on Auto Bahn. Another crazy place to drive is say Kuwait. Seems like there is no rule of the road. Plain crazy and scary.
I've been the front-seat passenger with my 23-year-old nephew (born/raised in Germany, not particularly faint of heart...) and seen beads of sweat on his forehead... and it wasn't summer....
In Mid-Eastern countries, I keep hearing most drivers just don't care that much because "...it's in God's hands..."
I drove in Austria this spring. What got me is there are NO SHOULDERS. And that's not just on the AutoBahn. And yes, they DO drive a bit faster than most drivers on the Canadian 401 - and with a LOT more discipline.
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