Germany's Open Speed Limits Upheld

[windnsea00]

Quote:

---

[quote This thread was not obviously for you. If you don't even understand the R&D that goes into Germans cars purely due to the Autobahn then don't embarass yourself with stating things such as "ludicrous" and rolling your eyes.

The design of cars and the Autobahn is deeply rooted into the German culture and scoffing at it is just demonstrates the "Ugly American." I personally find it interesting to learn about cultures and the ways they work and suprise suprise some places are more capable than US. You give off the attitude that if it's not done here then obviously it must not matter elsewhere, pathetic.

---

Get over yourself already. Its an opinion..get it? As an engineer I am aware of R&D but usually that falls into the "Research and Development" phase of product development having an axle fall off on the Autobohn isn't an R&D event.

And also funny that German Vehicles seem to hit the "Dead Last" in Reliability here in the States. Perhaps their vehicles only hold up well at 150 mph.

---

BMW is generally in the mid-pack for reliability however MBZ and VW is a different story. Greanted I think those results can be slightly skewed. First, a BMW (or euro brand for that matter) comes with a ton more gadgets than a basic Honda yet they are compared to. Second, an owner of a premium euro brand will more than likely be more picky over issues compared to a basic A to B car. I can say from my experience with 4 BMW's and the one my mother currently has...they have been very reliable.

What I am actually am disappointed with is our `05 F-150 5-spd. You would think the bare bones model would be issue free but we are taking it in for warranty soon to get the passenger valve cover gasket replaced (leaks), fuel sender doesn't always say the tank is full after filling..may not move for hours, clutch chatter is pretty bad at low speed situations and lastly it idles rough at low rpms...nothing horrible but stuff that shouldn't be happening with 35k on the clock.

 

[moribundman]

Can we stick to the speed and safety issue here instead of veering off on a tangent? You guys can go ahead and make a reliability thread if you want. Having owned both, Euro and US makes, I'll gladly join in.

 

[Shannow]

Interesting argument about cars being designed for the autobahn, and a reduction in speed limits will affect what they offer the public.

So are they are saying that if, say a 120km/hr speed were adopted, they'd re-engineer their cars to not exceed 120km/hr ?

Of course not, it's an invalid argument.

Are they saying that they'll only engineer their cars to be safe up to the speed limit regardless of where the speedo stops ?

If it were Oz, or the U.S.A., I'd bet some liability lawyers would have the article copied and framed, waiting for the chance to exercise it.

 

[moribundman]

Safety features and will only get better, no matter if there will be a general speed limit.

Most lethal accidents are head-on collisions and side impacts. Trees are very unforgiving, too. In no car is it safe to crash at high speed.

 

[moribundman]

Addendum to one of my previous posts in which I said a test driver was involved in a high speed Autobahn accident:

A DaimlerChrysler test driver crashed at high speed on the A 81 between Osterburken and Boxbergin into a car that swerved unexpectedly into the passing lane in an effort to passing a truck. The DC test driver rear-ended the other vehicle, which ran of the autobahn and rolled over. The driver of the car died later. The DC testy driver was not hurt.

The notion that test drivers are using the Autobahn for reckless driving is wrong. They adhere to traffic laws and hopefully have common sense, which every driver should have. Accidents happen.

 

[windnsea00]

^Based off that story, the person pulling out into the passing lane was obviously at fault.

 

[moribundman]

Yes, but some argue that if people wouldn't be driving that fast the resulting crashes would be less severe -- which is of course true.

I believe that if we want to achieve a remarkable reduction in lethal accidents, we have to set a speed limit of 40 mph and put away with all opposing lanes, all trees, all pedestrians, all motorcyles, all bicycles, all left turns and all 3 and 4-way stops. Seriously!

 

[Shannow]

Oz Govt has statistics to prove that every kilometer of divided road will save 1 life (they never told us the timeframe).

In the 80's, they started stealing an extra 2c/litre to fund "roads of national importance" being divide/dual laned by the bicentenary (1988).

They failed miserably, kept the 2c/litre tax, and when you look at those same roads, the undivided sections are still averaging death rates in the double figures every year.

At least in a rear ender, the closing speed is minimised.

 

[Sparkman]

Quote:

---

Yes, but some argue that if people wouldn't be driving that fast the resulting crashes would be less severe -- which is of course true.

I believe that if we want to achieve a remarkable reduction in lethal accidents, we have to set a speed limit of 40 mph and put away with all opposing lanes, all trees, all pedestrians, all motorcyles, all bicycles, all left turns and all 3 and 4-way stops. Seriously!

---

I disagree, I think about 90% of accidents are due to stupidity, manifested in one or more of numerous ways. Most people drive in a way I deem to be stupid, and the rest is just statistics 101.

In principal, given what I know about the capabilities of the average person, I find the notion of a road with an unlimited speed limit to be absurd.

 

[moribundman]

Quote:

---

In principal, given what I know about the capabilities of the average person, I find the notion of a road with an unlimited speed limit to be absurd.

---

People's driving skills vary greatly. Even if there is no posted speed limit, there is a limit to safe speed under the circumstances. Such a flexible limit requires common sense and personal responsibility by traffic participants. Due to the general lack of driving skill and discipline, I'd say a speed limit of 45 mph on local freeways would be about adequate.

 

[gonesurfing]

I have some experience driving in other countries and have come to the conclusion that speed limits don't matter unless they're enforced. In the US, we're used to somewhat strict enforcement of speed and traffic laws and most of our driving styles reflect that. I find that whenever I'm oversees that my driving style quickly changes. It's hard to follow a 100kph speed limit when you're getting passed by people going 160kph.

 

[moribundman]

Quote:

---

I have some experience driving in other countries and have come to the conclusion that speed limits don't matter unless they're enforced.

---

Good point. I get speeding tickets all the time in Germany, although I try not to get caught there. I got only one speeding ticket in the US during the past ten years. Go figure.

 

[oilyriser]

It's relativity that matters. If you're going at 90 mph, and hit another car going at 89, it's not that bad. There could be minimum and maximum speeds, for maximum safety.

 

[JohnnyO]

I saw a TV show not long ago, 20/20 or whatever, they showed in a lot of places there is so much traffic congestion on the 'Bahn that people are limited to maybe 40 mph or less and stop and go anyway.

 

[moribundman]

Of course there can be bad traffic and jams on an Autobahn. It depends mostly when and where you drive. Around my area there is never dense traffic or a jam on the Autobahn, unless there's a nasty accident. I can hop on the Autobahn that goes by my town, stomp on it and go as fast the weather permits for at least 30 miles before there is enough traffic to slow me down. There are other areas where Autobahn traffic is just bas bad as any LA freeway at rush hour. I have driven through Germany from the very south to the coast in 7 hours repeatedly. I avoided heavy traffic by driving through the night. That's 1,000 km or over 600 miles distance and comes to an average speed of 88 mph. That included always one 10 minute stop for refueling and taking a leak.

 

[Shannow]

1,200km down here takes 13 hours

 

[JohnnyO]

Quote:

---

That included always one 10 minute stop for refueling and taking a leak.

---

You need a NASA diaper then to save more time.

 

[moribundman]

Dignity comes first, speed second!