Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

blog.datawrapper.de

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 173 posts

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#161

Post by kmlx »

withinboredom wrote: post #120
kmlx wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> automatic speed limiters in every car. this is literally the nightmare of every driver.

As long as it can be turned off when it malfunctions, why is it a nightmare? At least in the Netherlands, most people are going the speed limit or near it. Everyone stays to the right unless passing. In this case, it doesn’t sound like a nightmare. Somewhere like the US or where people speed often, yeah, it sounds like this feature could get you killed. Like somewhere like Atlanta, you’d probably get rear ended fairl…

so why would anyone need this tech if almost everyone already sticks to the limit?

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#162

Post by kmlx »

HyperSane wrote: post #144
kmlx wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> automatic speed limiters in every car. this is literally the nightmare of every driver.

There is no need for any car to go faster than 80 or 90 mph. The fuel efficiency at those speeds is terrible.

such a generalisation when we have a whole planet driving is a bit absurd.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#163

Post by withinboredom »

kmlx wrote: post #161
withinboredom wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as it can be turned off when it malfunctions, why is it a nightmare? At least in the Netherlands, most people are going the speed limit or near it. Everyone stays to the right unless passing. In this case, it doesn’t sound like a nightmare. Somewhere like the US or where people speed often, yeah, it sounds like this feature could get you killed. Like somewhere like Atlanta, you’d probably get rear ended fairl…

so why would anyone need this tech if almost everyone already sticks to the limit?

Cognitive load. A lot of speed limits are dynamic or based on the time of day or dependent on what city you’re in. For example, a nearby street to my house is a short 30 zone but the sign isn’t obvious so a lot of people are accidentally going 50.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#164

Post by Delemono »

kmlx wrote: post #159
Delemono wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Germany there are plenty of speed changes. Sometimes it's not always clear if I missed like a speedlimit cancelation or not. Or they reduce from unlimited to 100, 80 and 60 in no time. It's not a big issue but because I don't care for a hard limit it's for me a better deal

in general this is just a way for the state to collect money from drivers.

I think this is stupid and not true.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#165

Post by Delemono »

kmlx wrote: post #160
Delemono wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a driver and would prefer that. I drive to go from a to b and not to race. I care more about not getting a fine than traveling as fast as possible

it’s not about racing. it’s about having the freedom to go fast if needed.

The single need to go fast (wtf?) Is not as important than the safety for everyone using a street.

For emergencies there are proper laws.

And no your taco bell getting cold is not a good reason

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#166

Post by AnonymousPlanet »

precommunicator wrote: post #135
AnonymousPlanet wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have it the wrong way around. The fact that German drivers have to go through rigorous driving lessons by a licensed teacher is the reason they are allowed higher speeds. If your driving license can be obtained by scooting around for a couple of hours with your dad at your side and then do a DMV test that consists of driving once around the block, you shouldn't be allowed to drive at dangerous speeds.

Well, but minutes after obtaining such license you can literally board a plane to Germany and go drive 200 km/h, the only obstacle being rental companies policies, which, if you have enough money, can be skipped. And personally, after having a license from another EU country for less than 2 months when I first drove in my car in Germany, I definitely didn't feel prepared.

There's probably only a small fraction of people with a foreign license who travel the Autobahn by car. That number might be on par or even smaller than the number of drivers with a German license who still have a poor sense of responsibility.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#167

Post by acdha »

kmlx wrote: post #158
Scarblac wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely not, I want to stick to the speed limit (or go slower, 100km/h is fine). It's much easier to do that if everyone else is forced to do it too.

you can do it yourself without a machine forcing you to do it.

The problem is that safe drivers are bullied by aggressive ones, and the lack of punishment means the aggressive drivers become more emboldened. I’ve seen accidents caused by this where the guy honking at someone until they went an unsafe speed or ran a light drove off unscathed.

If cars can’t go faster than the legal limit, driving would be much less stressful with lower congestion as a bonus.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#168

Post by sjoc »

hugh-avherald wrote: post #86

> Opponents of speed limits often claim that the majority of people do not regularly drive faster than 130 km/h, ... If we look at the data, however, the picture is quite different. > [graph showing 30% drive faster than 130km/h] So the data actually confirms the 'common myth'.

Actually, that's not what the chart says. It's not maximum speeds, it's all speeds. That includes many circumstances where you can't go that fast, e.g. due to slow traffic, accidents, speed limits etc. So 30% of all speeds surely is a lot.

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#169

Post by misslibby »

WirelessGigabit wrote: post #13

Myth #1: is a non-reason to ban it. Non-usage of something is not a reason to get rid of something Myth #2: I've never met someone who is like: oh if I cannot drive 200kmph I'll be late to my meeting. That's not why people drive fast. They do because it's fun! Myth #3: Emissions are taxed. Car consumes more, so you pay more taxes. Myth #4: You cannot push everybody to electric cars and then yell: oh but the electrici…

Is there a calculation as to how many hours would be lost spent on the road because of a speed limit? Like I don't know, say every day people spend a million hours driving on the highway, and a speed limit would bump it to 1.2 million hours (no idea, just made up numbers)?

Re: Debunking common myths about the Autobahn

#170

Post by DDayMace »

dashundchen wrote: post #101
DDayMace wrote: post #71

Speaking as an American, I spent a summer in Germany, Austria and Denmark delivering cars shipped from California. They were largely turbo diesel and stick shift, and I loved every minute of it. My friend's business had us hunting in LA for good used deals that went under the "old-timer" tariffs. German roads are far superior in every sense: materials, construction, maintenance, drainage, etc. They pay a price in tax…

It's not just the license requirements. The standard for maintenance and at a German TÜV inspection is far beyond most state level inspections in the US (if they are required at all in your state). In Florida it was very common to see cars with bald tires, dangerous lifts and modifications, and plenty of heaps broken down littering the road side. Even in New York where inspections are required annually and are string…

Genau!!!

I had to do several TÜV inspections. The requirement to have uniform headlight brightness and color is really awesome and much safer!

Post reply on HN