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German here. I once drove an Audi A8 from Hanover to Berlin (while working for a car rental company). It was pretty much 250kph (155 mph) all the way (except w

German here. I once drove an Audi A8 from Hanover to Berlin (while working for a car rental company). It was pretty much 250kph (155 mph) all the way (except where there was a speed limit of course). Definitely an insane experience. My hands were extremely sweaty. Yet I couldn't stop driving that fast. In that type of car, you don't really notice it anyway. But you DO notice it when suddenly another car is getting into your lane, seemingly far ahead, but within a few seconds you're so close that you have to hit the breaks really hard. It's fun and all and a few years ago I would have hated that type of "paternalism" by Volvo. But now, with self-driving cars around the corner and my own more mature understanding of human fallibility, I would argue that it makes little sense that humans do drive at speeds higher than around what Volvo is aiming at.

rad_gruchalski 8y ago
You driven like that once, some people drive like that daily. Usually it’s not them causing accidents. Whatever, anyone can be fast in a straight line.
- tobib 8y ago
  > Usually it’s not them causing accidents. I hear that all the time, do you have a source?
  - rad_gruchalski 8y ago
    In the current climate regarding the speed limit in Germany? Good luck. It’s from experience, you know, seeing it from the perspective of the fast driver. I know it’s another slogan but driving slower makes one more suspectible to distraction.
  - pcurve 8y ago
    There are accidents, but fatality on autobahn about 40% lower than U.S highway. With that said, I wouldn't really want to do sustained high speed driving anyway due to fuel economy. Going from 100kmh to 180kmh, fuel economy drops by half.
- imartin2k 8y ago
  I didn't make a remark about accidents. The scenario I described (the sudden appearance of another car in your lane while you are maybe 70 mph faster) does happen to every driver regardless of how often he/she speeds. It's simply that other drivers often are bad at assessing the speed of an approaching car on the left lane. The few cars that drive really fast are creating a stressful experience for everyone on the Autobahn. You can be the world's best fast driver on the German Autobahn with an entire accident-free record, yet you might have caused anxiety and dangerous situations for hundreds of other drivers as "byproduct" of your own driving. And I am writing that while I do love the Autobahn. I am even a bit shocked that I am now basically ending up arguing for speed limits... :P

rad_gruchalski 8y ago

You driven like that once, some people drive like that daily. Usually it’s not them causing accidents. Whatever, anyone can be fast in a straight line.

tobib 8y ago
> Usually it’s not them causing accidents. I hear that all the time, do you have a source?
- rad_gruchalski 8y ago
  In the current climate regarding the speed limit in Germany? Good luck. It’s from experience, you know, seeing it from the perspective of the fast driver. I know it’s another slogan but driving slower makes one more suspectible to distraction.
- pcurve 8y ago
  There are accidents, but fatality on autobahn about 40% lower than U.S highway. With that said, I wouldn't really want to do sustained high speed driving anyway due to fuel economy. Going from 100kmh to 180kmh, fuel economy drops by half.
imartin2k 8y ago
I didn't make a remark about accidents. The scenario I described (the sudden appearance of another car in your lane while you are maybe 70 mph faster) does happen to every driver regardless of how often he/she speeds. It's simply that other drivers often are bad at assessing the speed of an approaching car on the left lane. The few cars that drive really fast are creating a stressful experience for everyone on the Autobahn. You can be the world's best fast driver on the German Autobahn with an entire accident-free record, yet you might have caused anxiety and dangerous situations for hundreds of other drivers as "byproduct" of your own driving. And I am writing that while I do love the Autobahn. I am even a bit shocked that I am now basically ending up arguing for speed limits... :P