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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobahn#Travel_speeds https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobahn#Travel_speeds on a free-flowing section in 1992, the recorded a

by Joeri 8y ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobahn#Travel_speeds https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobahn#Travel_speeds on a free-flowing section in 1992, the recorded average speed was 132 km/h (82 mph) with 51% of drivers exceeding the recommended speed. The autobahn has a long history proving that people feel comfortable and safe at excessive velocities.

scarface74 8y ago
The autobahn is different. The people who drive on the autobahn self select because they want to drive fast and they have a disproportionate number of cars that can handle the speed. I doubt I would have been driving my first car - a Mercury Tracer - on the autobahn. But 80 miles per hour is not an abnormal speed on the highway. The posted speed limit is so rarely enforced, that it still isn’t a deterrent. For instance, the speed limit on GA 400 is 70. But you’d better be in the slow lane if you only go 70mph. https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/commuters-respond-to-sheriffs-hilarious-and-true-ga-400-speeding-post/85-540154004 https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/commuters-respond...
- philwelch 8y ago
  I'm not sure I understand this point. The autobahn is just the German highway system. Do Germans who don't want to drive fast and don't own fast cars all emigrate to Denmark or something?
  - NegativeLatency 8y ago
    When most Americans talk abou the autobahn like this they actually mean the sections without speed restrictions
    - rconti 8y ago
      So do Germans who want to get from one city to another exit the Autobahn and drive on surface streets to avoid the de-restricted sections? Of course not.
      - gehwartzen 8y ago
        They just get into the correct lane.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    I thought it was understood in context and because Americans usually refer to "the Autobahn" as the parts without speed limits.
    - rconti 8y ago
      The criticism of your comment stands, regardless of whether you're talking about a section that is restricted vs derestricted. Do people driving on derestricted sections self-select and have cars better able to handle the speeds? Does anyone in Germany only drive on restricted sections? You comment as if the derestricted sections are just some racetrack in the middle of nowhere for which people self-select. No, they're just roads going from one place to another, like any other road. And Germany doesn't kick out citizens who don't want to drive fast, or offer easy citizenship for those who do.
sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
Are you suggesting those "excessive" velocities are not actually safe?
- Joeri 8y ago
  If you look at the stopping distances at 80+ mph I don't see how you can argue those speeds are safe.
  - sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
    If you look at the low level of fatalities on the autobahn, I don't see how you can argue those speeds are unsafe.
    - jschwartzi 8y ago
      It's a lot harder to get a license in Germany than in the US, and there's more of an expectation that you keep your vehicle in good repair. I could argue that the speed limit on the Autobahn is a result of selecting for more conscientious and capable drivers rather than proof that higher speeds are safe in general.
      - sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
        I'm not sure what it would mean for a speed to be "safe in general". What is the general case? Whether a particular speed is safe or not is situation dependent, and the situation absolutely includes the quality of the drivers and vehicles involved.
        jschwartzi 8y ago
        Which is essentially what I'm saying, that higher speeds on the Autobahn may be safe because the drivers are better and the cars are in better condition, but that that wouldn't work here in the US because our drivers aren't as competent and their cars are more likely to fail at Autobahn speeds.
tomsmeding 8y ago
Here in the Netherlands, and I think also in other places in Europe, 130 km/h is the normal highway speed limit, though in places it's at 120 or 100 instead. This was raised from some time ago, when the normal maximum was 120 instead of 130. So it seems that 130 km/h (81 mph) is not all that excessive.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
thescriptkiddie 8y ago
The recommended speed on the Autobahn is 130 km/h, but in the unrestricted sections you can technically drive as fast as you want, conditions permitting. The fact that the average speed in an unrestricted section with light traffic was only 132 km/h suggests that the vast majority of drivers don't actually want to drive much faster than that.

by Joeri 8y ago

scarface74 8y ago

The autobahn is different. The people who drive on the autobahn self select because they want to drive fast and they have a disproportionate number of cars that can handle the speed. I doubt I would have been driving my first car - a Mercury Tracer - on the autobahn. But 80 miles per hour is not an abnormal speed on the highway. The posted speed limit is so rarely enforced, that it still isn’t a deterrent. For instance, the speed limit on GA 400 is 70. But you’d better be in the slow lane if you only go 70mph. https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/commuters-respond-to-sheriffs-hilarious-and-true-ga-400-speeding-post/85-540154004 https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/commuters-respond...

philwelch 8y ago
I'm not sure I understand this point. The autobahn is just the German highway system. Do Germans who don't want to drive fast and don't own fast cars all emigrate to Denmark or something?
- NegativeLatency 8y ago
  When most Americans talk abou the autobahn like this they actually mean the sections without speed restrictions
  - rconti 8y ago
    So do Germans who want to get from one city to another exit the Autobahn and drive on surface streets to avoid the de-restricted sections? Of course not.
    - gehwartzen 8y ago
      They just get into the correct lane.
- scarface74 8y ago
  I thought it was understood in context and because Americans usually refer to "the Autobahn" as the parts without speed limits.
  - rconti 8y ago
    The criticism of your comment stands, regardless of whether you're talking about a section that is restricted vs derestricted. Do people driving on derestricted sections self-select and have cars better able to handle the speeds? Does anyone in Germany only drive on restricted sections? You comment as if the derestricted sections are just some racetrack in the middle of nowhere for which people self-select. No, they're just roads going from one place to another, like any other road. And Germany doesn't kick out citizens who don't want to drive fast, or offer easy citizenship for those who do.

sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago

Are you suggesting those "excessive" velocities are not actually safe?

Joeri 8y ago
If you look at the stopping distances at 80+ mph I don't see how you can argue those speeds are safe.
- sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
  If you look at the low level of fatalities on the autobahn, I don't see how you can argue those speeds are unsafe.
  - jschwartzi 8y ago
    It's a lot harder to get a license in Germany than in the US, and there's more of an expectation that you keep your vehicle in good repair. I could argue that the speed limit on the Autobahn is a result of selecting for more conscientious and capable drivers rather than proof that higher speeds are safe in general.
    - sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
      I'm not sure what it would mean for a speed to be "safe in general". What is the general case? Whether a particular speed is safe or not is situation dependent, and the situation absolutely includes the quality of the drivers and vehicles involved.
      - jschwartzi 8y ago
        Which is essentially what I'm saying, that higher speeds on the Autobahn may be safe because the drivers are better and the cars are in better condition, but that that wouldn't work here in the US because our drivers aren't as competent and their cars are more likely to fail at Autobahn speeds.

tomsmeding 8y ago

Here in the Netherlands, and I think also in other places in Europe, 130 km/h is the normal highway speed limit, though in places it's at 120 or 100 instead. This was raised from some time ago, when the normal maximum was 120 instead of 130. So it seems that 130 km/h (81 mph) is not all that excessive.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

thescriptkiddie 8y ago

The recommended speed on the Autobahn is 130 km/h, but in the unrestricted sections you can technically drive as fast as you want, conditions permitting. The fact that the average speed in an unrestricted section with light traffic was only 132 km/h suggests that the vast majority of drivers don't actually want to drive much faster than that.