US To Have Same Limits As Germany's Autobahn?

it's the middle part you've got to worry about. Out here we have a pretty good highway system and it's still under renovation/development. It's based off the system used in Tokyo, only not toll roads(most places). Most of the sections are very nice to drive, smooth, banked, walled, very fun for some high speed shit. But there's always the odd grandma in the left lane doing EXACTLY the speed limit or something like that.

it's funny, I find people drive better early in the morning or late at night. during the day, especially on sundays, is when you encounter most of the idiots. Otherwise people seem to move at a pretty good clip and will move over when you come up behind them.

over here old people have 1 letter less on their licenseplate. so they're realy easy to spot. from the moment you see the car in front of you only has 5 digits instead of 6 --> overtake :D

and we have the same "problem". most of the time all goes smooth. except for wednesday afternoon, and sundays, caus then they have to watch the grandchildren and take them everywhere
 
Concerning the speed limit in America thing, I doubt that straight roads would be a problem, because you focus a lot more on driving when going faster. But as I saw it in the US, I don't think it would be a good idea to remove them, because, no offence there, but it appeared to me that many drivers there didn't seem to have an idea how to stick to the most simple rules of driving. Also you would have to go back to an "only pass on the left"-system and the whole way the Interstates are built with merging lanes sometimes, etc would not work with such high speeds.
You also don't drive higher speeds to cover great distances, its not that we drive from Hamburg to Munich with 250 all the time, because fuel economy gets rather poor and it is very tiring to drive faster than 200 for a long time.

If only those on the Autobahn were so good! Several times I've been 100% into the ABS when slower -- often dramatically slower -- traffic has pulled out in front of me despite having lights on, etc.

Yes, there are some cultural issues that need to be addressed, but fundamentally I don't believe that American drivers would be any worst overall.

Steve
 
I lived in Denver as a kid and was there about 3 years ago, I am surprised at how nice the roads are there considering the weather there.
we actually have very mild weather, so there isn't much road damage, even in the high country roads(some as high as 14k+ft)
Denver seems to have someone screwing them over though cause my Aunt was complaining that they are lowering the speed limits on certain key highways to push people on the toll roads.
I have no idea what your aunt could be talking about, the speed limits actually went UP in most places, and there is only one toll highway. The fees have gone up by about 50 cents in the last couple years, so maybe that's what she's talking about? :dunno:

The only problems with Colorado are my mom lives there (she should not be allowed behind the wheel of a 1+ton machine capable of speeds above 3MPH), and for a place that gets a good amount of snow, they don't seem to have a damn clue how to drive in it. Same goes for here in Missouri.
It's like the states that get it have people that just assume they know how to drive in it, why these states don't require drivers ed and those courses don't force snow/ice driving training is beyond me. At least Denver drivers actually obey some of the rules of the road and don't clog the left lanes like they do here.

This country seriously needs to improve it's license testing. /rant
actually we don't get very much snow around denver most years. Every few years, say 5-10, we get a bad winter, but the rest of the time it's pretty mild. This last winter was pretty gnarly by our standards(we still have NOTHING on midwestern winters) and a lot of people were caught off guard. It's funny because there are a few people I know who moved here in the last couple years and after this year are all scared that winter is always like it was a few months ago(it's been sunny and in the 70s for a few weeks now), but it comes in cycles. My family is from Iowa(well, after europe anyway) and Iowa winters suck hardcore ass.

The problem with a lot of the drivers here is they're either transplants from california, and californian drivers suck donkey cock, or they have some sort of AWD car and think that because they have AWD they can do 10 over the limit in a snowstorm. Colorado's population has been growing quite a bit in the last couple decades, so a lot of people are from other areas and have no clue.

We do need far stricter license tests and requirements tho, everywhere in the US.

bone said:
over here old people have 1 letter less on their licenseplate. so they're realy easy to spot. from the moment you see the car in front of you only has 5 digits instead of 6 --> overtake [User Posted Image]
Damn that's an awesome idea! I think we should test people over 50 every year as well, and not just written and vistion, we should give them a full driver test and reactions and all that shit too. Some people have no problem driving on up untill they die, but others shouldn't be allowed within 50ft of a car.
 
Zenki Dori said:
The problem with a lot of the drivers here is they're either transplants from california, and californian drivers suck donkey cock, or they have some sort of AWD car and think that because they have AWD they can do 10 over the limit in a snowstorm. Colorado's population has been growing quite a bit in the last couple decades, so a lot of people are from other areas and have no clue.

Hey! I'm a California driver! Many of the bad drivers that are "from California" were also from some place else first, or are just horrible drivers in general. Case in point, my mother. One (of the many) times she was pulled over she honestly couldn't understand why a cop had done it. Even after the cop pointed out that she had no wheel on the Passenger-rear hub...

The fact that at least California drivers don't like to sit and drive in the left lane, unless they are constantly passing, makes them far better drivers than anyone here in Missouri. I swear it's like the driving tests here say "The worse the weather, the more weight you pull, and in general the less safe your vehicle is you should drive faster." Californian's are usually easy to point out because when bad weather comes they get scared and do the logical thing and slow down. But when the weather is clear, get the F*** out of our way, we got somewhere to go and we hate traffic :D

BTW, Colorado officially has more sunny days a year than California according to your Governor, something like 300 a year. Last time I lived there was over 10 years and I can only remember that summers were hot as hell, and winters seemed colder than Siberia in January, and my mother likes to remind me that when it snows it doesn't stay for long. Living in the in Missouri makes me miss your weather.
 
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Yeah, thankfully we've made sitting in the left lane illegal, and now you're more likely to be pulled over for blocking traffic than speeding in the left lane. But it seems like 75% of the time you see some dipshit on the road he's either got cali plates, or a sticker from cali(like a radio station or college) or when I ask where they're from it's always something like LA or the bay or whatever. we get shitty drivers from NY too, just not as many, thankfully. NYC drivers are probably the worst in the US. They think the median is another lane.

Californian's are usually easy to point out because when bad weather comes they get scared and do the logical thing and slow down.
Now this is another thing that pisses me off about you guys. Whenever there is just a little precipitation, you all come to a screeching halt as if it were a freaking hurricane or something. Colorado is a very dry state, and we don't get a lot of rain or snow in the "lower" elevations, but every time it spits you guys block traffic as if the last place you want to be is your destination.
BTW, Colorado officially has more sunny days a year than California according to your Governor, something like 300 a year. Last time I lived there was over 10 years and I can only remember that summers were hot as hell, and winters seemed colder than Siberia in January, and my mother likes to remind me that when it snows it doesn't stay for long. Living in the in Missouri makes me miss your weather.
Yeah, Denver is the sunniest city in north america. It may be 40 degress outside, but it'll be blue sky for miles. This last winter sucked for us, we're used to seeing all the snow gone within 3 days of a storm, but we just kept getting hit so it stayed a while. Who knows maybe we'll have some more and this is just "fake" spring, but I've seen a lot of springtime flora and fauna, so I'm not so sure. Summer can get really hot out here, but since Colorado is so dry it's not too bad. Not like summer down in Texas or the south, that shit is murderous.

one cool thing I like is that in June, it'll be like 80 something down near denver, but there are still a few ski resorst open untill then, haha. drastic elevation change FTW!
 
Yeah, thankfully we've made sitting in the left lane illegal.
all the states around me have that same law, and yet no one seems to abide by it. That shit pisses me off to no ned.

Summer can get really hot out here, but since Colorado is so dry it's not too bad. Not like summer down in Texas or the south, that shit is murderous.

Tell me about it, we get the sickening humid heat the south gets during the summer, and the freezing cold of the north during the winter, all the cold gets shot down out of Canada riding the rockies and straight into my state. Thankfully winters are usually just cold here, with occasional ice and snow storms.

one cool thing I like is that in June, it'll be like 80 something down near denver, but there are still a few ski resort open until then, haha. drastic elevation change FTW!

I'm kind of wishing certain people I know didn't live in that state, I'd be tempted to move back. I prefer California though, 65+ all year long, with summer occasionally going above 90. :lol:

This thread is officially WAY OT :lol:
 
California isn't bad as far as geography and climate, but it's been ruined by politics, crime, douchebags and hippies. kind of like Mexico, only without the hippies.
 
The US should drastically improve it's driving tests. THEN we could possibly get 80+ mph speed limits.

But it probably won't happen with this environmental BS, greedy politicians, and that there will always be one idiot tearing down the road at lightspeed, looking at porn on his laptop or phone, generally NOT LOOKING WHERE HE IS DRIVING, and the pols will think everyone drives like that.

We should replace all politicians with car nuts with a clue. Make that a thorough plan.
 
Ahem.... Texas already HAS 80mph speed limits and will shortly have 85mph.
 
California isn't bad as far as geography and climate, but it's been ruined by politics, crime, douchebags and hippies. kind of like Mexico, only without the hippies.

Kind of like Mexico? Shit man my middle and high schools had a Mexican population that far exceeded any other race/nationality.

To avoid adding to much, I will only say that California has the most fucked up love/hate relationship with cars. The law makers are doing everything they can to get rid of (the old) cars (crushing a bunch of classic cars will do wonders for the environment), retarded emissions regulations (it's illegal to modify a cars smog equipment even if it were to improve it's gas mileage and cleanliness), and yet most of the countries aftermarket parts manufacturers, car modders, hot rodders, and racers come out of california. Hot rodding and the Import scene all started around LA.

God damn thats a run on sentence from hell!
 
Kind of like Mexico? Shit man my middle and high schools had a Mexican population that far exceeded any other race/nationality.
You missed the point entirely, I wasn't referring to a hispanic presence. Also, Mexican is not a race, it's a nationality.

Hot rodding and the Import scene all started around LA.
You're half right anyway. But then, the "Import Scene" isn't exactly something to brag about.
 
Damn that's an awesome idea! I think we should test people over 50 every year as well, and not just written and vistion, we should give them a full driver test and reactions and all that shit too. Some people have no problem driving on up untill they die, but others shouldn't be allowed within 50ft of a car.

they're not given a new license plate. just somewhere in the early 70s they ran out of combinations, so they added a digit. so if you see one with only 5, he's old by definition

i wouldn't just check those older than 50. i would let a driver license only last 5 years. if 5 years have passed, you have to take the test again
 
wait, so you keep your license plate? Here you change license plates whenever you buy a car, I think you can carry over your plate if you want, but I've had a different plate on every car I've owned.
 
^yep, your plate is personal. if you get a new car, you put your old license plate on it
 
^ Missouri is the same way. I've had the plate on my wife's cars for at least 5 years now and that's been 4 different cars.

Which is still odd for me, plates go with the car where I'm from. But the laws here get on my nerves, everyone always told me "registration is dirt cheap in missouri" and It is, my car is like $8 to register (under 67hp), but then there is still the personal tax. It seems like every time you deal with someone there is always something they conveniently leave out, and usually the most important/expensive bit.

You missed the point entirely, I wasn't referring to a hispanic presence. Also, Mexican is not a race, it's a nationality.

I got your point completely, you missed mine, including the "race/nationality" thing.

You're half right anyway. But then, the "Import Scene" isn't exactly something to brag about.

Nope, I'm 100% right on that one.

While the "Import scene" has had a number of hideous idea's (clear taillights and big spoilers being some of the worst), it helped a large number of us find out that cars with engines smaller than 302 cubic inches are in fact capable of quick times on the 1/4 mile. As a side benefit people found out cars in fact turn and can do so quickly, and it's entertaining to do it in all directions, not just forward and to the left AND a surprising number of cars could do it with some simple tweaks.
 
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I didn't know there where so many people from the midwest on here. I've lived around KC my whole life. MODoT sucks, but then they've got an absurd amount of highway to take care of. I'm broke, so I tag my cars in Kansas. No inspections FTW :D . thedguy, I feel your pain with the left lane idiots. 435 in KC is the worst, it's like everyone completely forgets anything they ever learned about driving. They used to have "Slow traffic merge right" signs, but no more. And if you want to see a US Autobahn, jump on the I70 turnpike from Kansas City to Topeka, KS. 70 is the limit, but 80-85mph is the average speed. It's not unusual to see people doing over 100.

I really hope Germany doesn't cave into this pressure from the EU. I know the ADAC is bigger than any German political party, so there's going to be alot of people not getting re-elected if they impose a speed limit lol.
 
I didn't know there where so many people from the midwest on here. I've lived around KC my whole life. MODoT sucks, but then they've got an absurd amount of highway to take care of.

I'm more surprised by the number of Missourian's (my spell check says thats a word) on this forum that just midwesterners.
 
I actually enjoy driving in California. If California drivers know how to do one thing, it's drive in traffic. I've never driven on such crowded freeways at such high rates of speed. They seem to know that there are a lot of people and a lot of cars and in order to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, you have to drive as quickly as possible.

In Arizona we get all the "Snow Birds" in the winter. 80 year olds who don't like the snow anymore, so they live in Arizona and drive like there is 10 inches of powder on the roads. It use to be great driving in Arizona in the summer. The population would drop by 60% in the summer. But not anymore. Too many people moving in from out of state, and none of them know how to drive.
 
Which is still odd for me, plates go with the car where I'm from. But the laws here get on my nerves, everyone always told me "registration is dirt cheap in missouri" and It is, my car is like $8 to register (under 67hp), but then there is still the personal tax. It seems like every time you deal with someone there is always something they conveniently leave out, and usually the most important/expensive bit.

Is that $8 for a year? Registration here is about $500 a year, and it's among the cheapest in the country.

Having plates that go with the driver sounds weird, it wouldn't work here (drivers licences in this state are 9 digit numbers, most starting with 0). Here, plates go with the car, and you can replace the plates on a car if need be (I had a 1994 car with a U plate on it from 2006, my current car's a 1993 with F (which is 1993)).

I do think that some of the freeways in Australia (the NT already has the limits) would do fine with 130km/h limits (most highways would stay what they are, the requirements for 130 roads should be strict).

However, people would cry about it killing people. My state does have some pretty strict speed enforcement, and although 5-10km/h is typically only a $134 fine and a demerit point, 25km/h+ over is an automatic licence suspension. (Also, I live in the country, not a heap of traffic, I've had a licence suspension for speeding before, though)
 
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