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Don't understand why most of USA and Canada doesnt have any no speed limit freeways but Germany does.
Our Freeways are very wide, straight, less traffic, large shoulders.
You can easily go 90 mph on most of I-70 between Denver and Kansas City.
In Germany you are always dealing with curves, traffic, construction, plus there is pretty much no left shoulder which is scary.
Yeah, the lack of escape/runoff room on Autobahns always makes me scratch my head. That's one area where the U.S. definitely got it right.
We have speed limits even on the most desolate interstates because:
1) we consider driving more of a personal right than a privilege and therefore we do not expect more than a basic understanding of the rules of the road and how to operate a car, and putting these marginally educated drivers on unlimited-speed highways is a recipe for mayhem;
2) building and maintaining highways safe enough for unlimited speeds is very expensive -- plus we have a lot more interstate per capita to maintain than Germany has autobahn per capita -- and we're barely willing to pay for the mediocre infrastructure that we have much less pay to substantially improve it; and
3) the insurance and law enforcement lobbies wouldn't have it any other way.
Yeah, the lack of escape/runoff room on Autobahns always makes me scratch my head. That's one area where the U.S. definitely got it right.
We have speed limits even on the most desolate interstates because:
1) we consider driving more of a personal right than a privilege and therefore we do not expect more than a basic understanding of the rules of the road and how to operate a car, and putting these marginally educated drivers on unlimited-speed highways is a recipe for mayhem;
2) building and maintaining highways safe enough for unlimited speeds is very expensive -- plus we have a lot more interstate per capita to maintain than Germany has autobahn per capita -- and we're barely willing to pay for the mediocre infrastructure that we have much less pay to substantially improve it; and
3) the insurance and law enforcement lobbies wouldn't have it any other way.
Many people like to compare speeds on Germany's autobahns with those on US superhighways, but they always seem to leave out part of the difference between the two nations that makes higher speeds (theoretically) safer in Germany. That difference is twofold:
Very strict vehicle inspection standards
Very strict licensing standards
I frequently hear people in this country complain about vehicle inspections in the states that do have this requirement, despite the reality that our vehicle inspection standards are actually very lax in comparison with Germany's. Despite the relative laxity of our inspection standards, it seems that a lot of people will tell you that this requirement is...a restriction on their freedom...or...some type of conspiracy to separate them from their money...or...something else that should just not exist in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And, those same people also seem to want to reduce the size of government, despite the reality that stricter licensing standards would require setting up a bureaucracy and infrastructure of an increased size in order to do more stringent testing of those who want driver's licenses. Germany (like most of Europe) has tax rates that are significantly higher than those in The USA, and at least one small part of the necessity for these higher taxes is that they have established and must maintain the large bureaucracy that does the testing and licensing of drivers in Germany.
So...if you want German-style expressways, you had better be prepared to pay German-style taxes.
1) we consider driving more of a personal right than a privilege and therefore we do not expect more than a basic understanding of the rules of the road and how to operate a car, and putting these marginally educated drivers on unlimited-speed highways is a recipe for mayhem;
Isn't that the same excuse we used to hear for keeping the 55mph speed limit?
The fact is that in most Europe the highway speed limit is 130km/h which is about 81mph. And the speed limit is understood as 130km/h weather permitting. So you could get a ticket doing 130km/h if it is raining. 80mph is in fact a very safe speed. It gets you going and is not too tiring as well. Drivers there know that the left lane is for passing and not for cruising. The US is a much larger place and we drive longer distances. 65mph does not make any sense at all. The excuse of the cost is just that ...an excuse. We just do not have our priorities right. We prefer to let our government waste billion of dollars in useless military expeditions and useless projects, but very little is given to transportation. Look at the state of the high speed train....
I84 in PA has barely any traffic most of the time and you can do 80mph and not get tickets excepted on holidays where they decide to have a 0 tolerance to meet some quotas and tax people. If Europeans were asked to drive 65mph on highways they would be a revolution there!
The fact is that in most Europe the highway speed limit is 130km/h which is about 81mph. And the speed limit is understood as 130km/h weather permitting. So you could get a ticket doing 130km/h if it is raining. 80mph is in fact a very safe speed. It gets you going and is not too tiring as well. Drivers there know that the left lane is for passing and not for cruising. The US is a much larger place and we drive longer distances. 65mph does not make any sense at all. The excuse of the cost is just that ...an excuse. We just do not have our priorities right. We prefer to let our government waste billion of dollars in useless military expeditions and useless projects, but very little is given to transportation. Look at the state of the high speed train....
I84 in PA has barely any traffic most of the time and you can do 80mph and not get tickets excepted on holidays where they decide to have a 0 tolerance to meet some quotas and tax people. If Europeans were asked to drive 65mph on highways they would be a revolution there!
In the country I'm most familiar with, the speed is 110km/h, with certain stretches permitted to go 130.
Most Americans drive at a safe practical speed regardless of the posted limit. Around here that means 75 to 80 on Interstates posted at 65, 50 to 55 on secondary roads posted at 40 to 45 and 35+ on roads, except around schools and police stations, on roads posted for 30. There are some driving faster and a few driving slower. The very few going really fast generally find the cops or the trees fairly quickly.
One of my astonishments is how few people know how to pass on a two lane back road. Most simply do not pass quickly but hang in the oncoming lane as long as they can. I slow down and let them get at least one accident ahead.
80mph is in fact a very safe speed. It gets you going and is not too tiring as well. Drivers there know that the left lane is for passing and not for cruising. The US is a much larger place and we drive longer distances. 65mph does not make any sense at all.
65mph only makes sense for revenue generation purposes.
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