61–70 of 173 posts
Just like the gun debate in the US, the speed limit debate in Germany has at its core nothing to do with rational arguments. It is about perceived restriction, limiting personal freedom, and potentially taking away a right people are used to.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I ride my motorbike it rides comfortably at about 160km/hr. For that bike it is a very comfortable speed the bike likes. If I want to rip it can do 180plus. It maxes out at 200km/hr. Even at 200 really isn’t that fast for the open highways where I live. But a huge majority of the driver population has a hard time driving at sub 80km/hr speeds so we kind of need to adjust for the lowest denominator. I think the b…
How would you enforce per-driver speed limits? As it stands, car insurance sort-of does this: German policies usually reserve the right to refuse payment if you’re at fault and were going more than 130. How could this be managed for all the non-German vehicles that pass through? How invasive would this be? As a sibling comment said, the difference in speed is what makes for the danger, and the driver who stays well u…
That’s the other extreme that is a part of the problem. Both, the speedster and the slouch think their speed is safer for them. Driving too slow for the traffic around is as dangerous as driving too fast.
Speed doesn't kill, speed differential does. Any road where you have a big differential between speeds by various road users is just inherently dangerous. If everyone would be doing 250km/h, it'd be safe. Same if everyone would be doing 120km/h. But when you mix 250 and 120 on the same road, it's inherently dangerous.
The issue with ground based traffic is that you have a lot of non-moving objects around you, like trees, walls, animals, etc. So even if all cars drive at 250 km/h, those non-moving objects still remain there and pose an ever increasing risk with increased speed. Furthermore, curves are more dangerous at higher speeds.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
maybe rational, but purely subjective. "Restricting freedom" - the "freedom" to reach your destination in an arbitrary speed? what kind of freedom is this? esp if we talk about a difference of what, 10 minutes over 2 hours of driving time? "potentially potentially taking away a right people are used to" it wasn't really a right (=set in law), it just was not forbidden, just like a lot of other things that get restric…
For 260 km of Autobahn driving, 130 kph results in 2 hours for that distance. Even a mere 160 kph (~100 mph) saves 22.5 minutes rather than the 10 minutes you're suggesting.
I once drove from Stuttgart to Munich (230km) in 1h. I never feard so much for my life.
Related and completely missed by this is the 250 km/h Gentlemen’s Agreement that is designed to limit extreme speeds in Germany. Posted last week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33816948
Proponents of unlimited speed Autobahn could argue: 1. The tourism value: I anecdotally know people visit Germany just for the Autobahn. (See Nürburgring, which is technically an Autobahn) 2. Sale of performance cars: The high actual minimum speed (from my experience you need to drive at around 150km/h in the middle lane, and 180-200km/h to pass on the left lane). Almost anywhere else in the world, the top speed of c…
Myth number 6.
Proponents of unlimited speed Autobahn could argue: 1. The tourism value: I anecdotally know people visit Germany just for the Autobahn. (See Nürburgring, which is technically an Autobahn) 2. Sale of performance cars: The high actual minimum speed (from my experience you need to drive at around 150km/h in the middle lane, and 180-200km/h to pass on the left lane). Almost anywhere else in the world, the top speed of c…
The Nürburgring is a private road and does not meet criteria for calling it an Autobahn (it's a one-way road without lanes, which kinda rules out Autobahn-ness).
During Terroristenfahrten, regular traffic rules of a two lane single direction road apply.
I come from Germany / Bavaria. I've been driving on the A8 autobahn between Stuttgart and Munich for many years. About 2.5 years ago, the maximum speed of 120 was introduced in a 10 km long section near Augsburg, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are some many exits in quick succession. It is generally very dangerous when people traveling at very high speeds (i.e. people who are just driving there) meet people who are trav…