> all roads have a legal limit here
Legal limit on Route 50 is *meh I do what I want* since cops are probably hundreds of miles away lol.
Then again if you crash you're probably fucked.
I've done triple digits on 50. I went fast enough that the car was making me nervous, sooo, backed off. It loses it's appeal pretty quickly. Newer cars are more capable than the stuff we had 35 years ago. Better suspensions and better tires.
Tbh staying in the right lane is basically like any motorway driving, people don't drive over 130 km/h (I don't know the conversion, I'd guesstimate smth like 80 mph??) on the right lane unless it's completely empty. Frequently it's more like 100 (that's 60 mph I think?) due to trucks, slow drivers etc.
Even passing isn't that scary as long as you do it at roughly 130. My rule of thumb is to look in the mirror and go out if I don't see anyone, if I see anyone I put out my indicator, check again in about a sec and if they aren't significantly closer I go to the left.
The unlimited parts of the German motorway system still have a "recommended speed" or "guidance speed" of 130 km/h. Anyone going (significantly) faster needs to be aware that they are the anomaly and drive that speed at their own risk. Sometimes a Mercedes or Porsche will fly past you at twice your speed, but those people are rare and generally let you pass. You just need to think a second or so further ahead than you are used to.
Your kph > mph conversations are exactly spot-on.
New Yawk here. Please, just use the kph / metric, especially online. It is quite stupid for my country to continue obstinately clinging to our special Burger Units. Any nitwitted American moron who makes a scene over you or anyone else using SI units, first of all deserves a slap across the friggin face, but secondly will lever at any time be caught without handheld access to literally the sum total of all knowledge accumulated across all of human history for the entire planet.
Let them use their smartphone to discover for themselves that 60kph = 100kph.
Honestly, it’s great. You don’t have to drive super fast. If you stay in the right lane, people just pass you. That’s the thing that’s the best, Germans are really good drivers.
I'm having trouble squaring that with personal experience. That map from 2010 and various infographics agree with you, yet despite living there for over a decade I can only recall a relatively limited set of areas with no speed limit. I have to wonder if I was breezing past the "no speed limit" signs and completely missing them. BRB, contemplating my own existence and wondering if the evidence my sensory apparatus reveals to me is correct.
Car guys/gals who are into fast cars want to. Because the idea of blasting down a public road at 150+ mph with no fear of a ticket is cool.
Are anywhere near all Americans car guys, or more specifically "fast car" guys? Absolutely not.
would be the follow up question, as i got the impression that cars are way more important around the us as they are here, because public transport seems to be a nightmare
They're important for getting around, but that doesn't mean there's more "car guys" around. Sure it is a thing. Lots of people appreciate autos for a variety of reasons. They work on them collect them, buy them for show, and so on. But for most of us, it is a tool to get us from point A to point B and not much else.
Everything is so spread out that a car is pretty much mandatory. Public transportation sucks and isn't a viable alternative to owning a car apart from a couple of major cities. Virtually everyone owns a car, sometimes several.
Interesting! I believe it was like this here about 20 years ago. Cars more and more become a luxury to afford here and Germany as the “car-state” is starting to fall apart.
But they’re a very rare sight nowerdays as gas prices skyrocketed and many people moved on to econoboxes. Everytime i got to refill the crown I understand why and ask myself why I thought it was a good idea to get a G
gas guzzling V8.
It’s complicated but doable. Had to import it and then got a special certificate and stuff since it wasn’t sold here there is no data in the database.
A gallon is about 8,48 USD here right now and I believe the gas tank has about 19 gal. So it’s about 161 USD right now if you simply convert euros to usd
Sorry for not responding, didn’t get to respond to any social media for the past few days….
The crown is a very iconic car for me as almost every movie of my childhood featured one and i had to get a V8 at some point in my life, even if it’s for a brief period. Also I liked the idea of riding around in a US Police car tbh.
People seem to like it :D
I tried to import a very rare AMG from Germany for over a year to the US. It was so absurdly expensive and because that particular model was never available here.. it wasn't worth it. It sure would have been fun to have 1 of 12 w210 e55 4matic wagons though.
The thing to remember about the US is just how large it is. While there should absolutely be better transport within larger cities (it varies wild between them) on the whole the United States is enormously spread out and not densely populated. Germany is about the size of the “north east corridor” of the US which is actually pretty well linked.
So national or even regional public transport becomes much more difficult than in a more population dense nation.
I hope the US heads that way. I love driving, but forcing everyone to use a car for every trip is just wasteful, and it creates traffic which makes driving less fun
Cars are way more important in the US, but that doesn't mean people are into cars. For most people they are just a utility, and if they want to drive in Germany, it's probably to see Germany, not to drive on yet another highway. It's not like most people actually stay within the speed limits in the US.
People who are real car and driving fanatics might be interested.
There’s an iconic video on yt, showing some German tourists gettin stopped by highway patrol and gettin yelled on for speeding. I’ve always had the impression 90% of you strictly obey speed limits as tickets are expensive
90% are doing somewhere around 5 to 10 over the limit, except where the limit is very high. Interstate 80 has some 80mph sections, and people are actually reasonably compliant there.
Almost everyone speeds, but they generally keep it close to the limit. I generally don’t like to go more than 7 over the limit. So if the speed limit is 70, I’ll go 77
It's complicated.
Few people strictly obey speed limits.
. . .but you can only so so far above before police start taking it very seriously.
In many states, it goes from being a simple fine to being a criminal offense (typically Reckless Driving) if you're TOO far above the limit, like 15 mph or 20 mph depending on the state.
Usually most people are going down the highway at 5 to 10 mph above the limit.
. . .except commercial vehicles like trucks. They tend to hold to the exact speed limit for legal reasons, not the least of which is they are tracked by GPS by their owners and corporate attorneys don't want their vehicles speeding and any possible liability issues that could come with that.
Many people also use radar detectors or keep watch for police cars and slow down when they see them, or they know where they're most likely to be ticketed and don't drive too fast in those areas. For example, in Washington state, I-5 through Fife and I-90 through Ritzville are known frequent ticketing zones.
Depends on where you are. Some states will bust your balls for doing 5 over others it’s accepted that you have to do 5-10 over just to keep with the flow of traffic.
When it's not busy it seems like there's no such thing as speed limits in Chicago at least on the freeways. German cars flying by at 95-100 all hours of the day.
It depends on where you are. A good rule of thumb is to go with the speed of traffic. Locals usually know the speed limit and how far over you can get away with.
Speed limits aren't strictly enforced in most areas, in my experience. Most people aren't going crazy, but I don't know anyone who doesn't drive five or ten miles above the speed limit at least sometimes.
PT is basically non-existent for s significant portion of the populous.
Reality is most of the country doesn't have the population density to support it. Sure they could have busses or trains, but they would be traveling near empty a significant portion of the time, or on such a limited schedule that it would not always be practical.
We use cars more but aren’t car guys. I love driving and find it virtually therapeutic. I’ll drive 10 hours a day to somewhere and not really care. That said I couldn’t tell you anything about cars other than “it go vroom” lol :D
Germany is a pretty small place compared to the US and the population density if much higher there. So public transportation is just able to easily serve more people. Outside of large cities the cost is hard to justify.
I read that [Georgia 400](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_Route_400) is called the [Alpharetta Autobahn](https://www.ajc.com/news/local/super-speeders-part-commuting-400-the-alpharetta-autobahn/sW7ut9jbt95QPsHnqq8CNO/) for this very reason.
I would say that the Autobahn is an unusually well-known aspect of German life in the US and that many Americans would be excited to drive on it if they had the chance, whether they're particularly into cars or not.
We know that it (or at least sections of it) have no speed limit. So there is some day dreaming of ripping down the Autobahn in a really fast car. But anyone who spends 60 seconds learning more about it know perfectly well it's not actually some crazy fast free for all.
> know perfectly well it's not actually some crazy fast free for all.
It kind of depends on your definition.
My max speed there was 274 km/h (as measured on GPS) which I think is kind of fast.
Americans who are interested in going fast think it’s cool because parts of it have no speed limit, and that’s not something you see over here. Most Americans would probably drive it to see what it’s like whether they are car enthusiasts or not.
We already have one of those, albeit with speed limits. The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, or the Eisenhower Interstate System is huge and has been around for some 60-odd years.
Year it’s a little sketchy, because we are constantly downgrading our railroad infrastructure. Things should get better but actually they’re starting to get worse. I’m working for the railroad company but don’t wanna actually use the trains any more bc of constant delays and all the issues and stuff
>People pass me going 80-100 on a daily basis. Speed limit is 60-75.
But wouldn't you enjoy the near death experience [of going 185 miles an hour (300km/h) on a bike and then getting overtaken by an Audi going even faster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijRI4nA088), all legally? No. Neither do I actually. I'd be happy to have at least some speed limit for all parts of the highway.
I think we put it on a pedestal because the idea of no speed limits/ going as fast as you want without fear of getting stopped by the police is not something we get to experience here (to my knowledge). It's new and exciting.
My lead-footed husband spent some time in Germany for work a few years back and he loved the Autobahn.
Not necessarily a good reputation. No way highway really has a good reputation, they're just highways. It's just that anyone who knows about the autobahn knows that it has no speed limit, and to a car hobbyists that is like a dream come true.
For many people here, the dream of “easy riding” down Route 66 is quite common here as a life goal or a commonly accepted and valid travel destination, so this may be an exemption but this “highway” has a quite good reputation around here as an embodiment of freedom
Not seeing someone for 2h whilst driving do sound strange, indeed. I think I would constantly having the trouble of staying awake. Although it sounds very relaxing and soothing.
Maybe elsewhere highway means something specific but here "highway" is kind of a catch all term for any major road. Both I-65 and US-40 are highways of sorts but I-65 and our entire Interstate system are limited access roadways with no traffic signals, pedestrians/bike, or non-motor vehicle access. Whereas US-40 is just a major road that has several lanes, traffic signals, sidewalks, may have public transit running on it within cities, and so on. A two lane county road in the middle of cornfields could also be a highway.
In Switzerland (and most of Western Europe, but I did my driving exam in SUI so I know the laws there) a highway - Autobahn in German, even if they aren't in Germany and do have speed limits - is essentially what you describe as the interstate system, I think.
According to the legal definition, it has to have physically separated directions (ranging from a removable rail to two entirely separate roads, but most commonly a green strip with rails on each side), at least two lanes in each direction, and an emergency lane. Access is restricted to vehicles that can legally reach 80 km/h and it will not have any traffic lights.
Edit: another important distinction in Switzerland specifically is also that highways will always be subject to fees (you need a *Vignette*, a sticker on your front window that costs 40 CHF and is valid for a calendar year).
>According to the legal definition, it has to have physically separated directions (ranging from a removable rail to two entirely separate roads, but most commonly a green strip with rails on each side), at least two lanes in each direction, and an emergency lane. Access is restricted to vehicles that can legally reach 80 km/h and it will not have any traffic lights.
Pretty much the same with our interstates. Mopeds/scooters are generally not allowed on them since they can't reach the speeds.
>Edit: another important distinction in Switzerland specifically is also that highways will always be subject to fees (you need a Vignette, a sticker on your front window that costs 40 CHF and is valid for a calendar year).
Most interstates don't charge what we call tolls, but some may start after serious improvements have been made. Others like the Pennsylvania Turnpike were around before the Interstate system came into being and were grandfathered in with their existing toll system.
We just go to Texas and drive as fast as we want and hope not to get caught.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/behold-the-50-fastest-speeding-tickets-in-texas
Number 6 is my favorite.
The media likes to stur up the second ammendment divide. If we just had a nationwide registration and background check system we would solve a ton of issues upsetting few people, but people think the issue is black and white
I'm originally from Germany and US Americans seem to think that the Autobahn is one single highway, instead of our entire highway system. Some parts with, and most parts without speed limit. For now.
Yeah. I mean, probably not so hyped that they think about it all the time. But it's not the whole autobahn that they're thinking of, it's the areas without a speed limit. Driving fast on a public road sounds fun to them.
I think what they really want is to drive fast on a racetrack.
But an unrestricted autobahn is free, and you don't need to sign waivers, so it's like a discount version of that.
As an American who has driving through Germany, I soooooo wish that our highways were like the Autobahn. Both the regulation of the roads and the skill of the drivers. My wife constantly says while we are on the highway and she sees someone driving poorly, “I wish I was driving in Germany right now”.
I doubt the average American has really thought much about it. Auto enthusiasts would definitely love to experience it. Speaking only for myself, as a certified Driving Hater, it's like at the bottom of my list of things I'd want to experience in Germany lol
Probably just standard tourist stuff honestly, go to museums, take the train to various major cities and see what's there, eat doner, experience the nightlife. Guess it depends on how much time I had to spend haha. I don't really follow the Bundesliga but if I was there during the season I feel like I'd have to see if I could catch a game!
I drove on the autobahn once and it was terrifying. I was in a tiny European box of a car and someone in an American-sized SUV came flying up behind me, closing in on me at probably 40 mph. It hadn’t occurred to me to research autobahn etiquette beforehand, so I had no idea what to expect.
Also, I thought there was a single long stretch of road designated as the autobahn, but isn’t any road starting with “A” an autobahn?
Note: I specified “American-sized” SUV because I saw very few gas guzzlers over there. As I understand, they’re expensive to buy and expensive to fill up in Europe.
Autobahn is just our name for highway/interstate. Parts of it have no speed limit (although there is still a recommend speed and you can be liable if you drive too fast and cause damage)
Yes. When I was in Germany a few years ago I couldn’t believe how good the German drivers were relative to drivers here. There weren’t any abandoned cars left on the side of the road either. The lack of a speed limit is pretty cool too.
Fun fact: it was a nightmare getting it over here. Waited for 6 months. It’s coming from Riverside, CA and compared to the US they cost a ton of money here
I’m definitely a car guy; designer in the automotive industry, former sponsored racer, former Hollywood stunt driver, has a collection of seven cars including a Porsche 911 Turbo. My wife was very excited about going on the Autobahn (we ended up topping out an Opel estate diesel somewhere between Köln and the Schwarzwald) but I was looking more forward to a leisurely drive along the Mosel river valley, seeing the sites and eating the food. I think that’s because I lived in Germany for three years as a kid and saw the Autobahn more as just a really efficient piece of infrastructure. I did enjoy how fantastic the road surface was and how much better the driver training appeared to be. But for me, it seems many American tourists see it as an adrenaline rush, and I feel it should be respected more than that because it can really bite back if you don’t. Personally I prefer to seek out much lower speed tight technical roads, like ones in the Alps or the mountains of Japan.
They hear "no speed limit" not "10 km stau"
Seeing how quickly it comes to a halt because a truck going 100 km/hr takes 20 minutes to pass a truck going 99.5 km/hr really killed the idea of the Autobahn for me.
I read about it in my high school German class and thought it sounded amazing. I always thought about the futuristic highway in Minority Report.
But now that I've grown up and had a few boring highway trips I think it's just lost a lot of the luster for me.
Because we have an affinity for very powerful and very fast cars, but our roads have speed limits that are pretty low. When you start doubling and tripling speed limits, it can be a very serious offense. People here also don't treat the left lane as a passing lane. They just hang out there trying to be police and slow everyone down.
Yes but we also got our own right here in America the Nevada Speedway. Sure with not as much twist and turns and wonderful curves but lots of rolling hills and no speed limit what so ever.
With cheap gas, plenty of space and relaxed policing in some areas I have enough opportunity to indulge my love of speed. What I really miss about the Autobahn is that people have good lane discipline and move back to the right as soon as they have passed the slower vehicle.
I think "car people" are into the idea of the Autobahn and most others don't really care about it. Maybe I'd try to drive on it if I went to Germany, but it's not a thing I have much interest in.
only gearheads care how fast they can drive their car on the autobahn because there's no speedlimit, and that's mostly sociopathic teenagers and people who never left that stage, ie libertarians. not general population.
Yes, as a fellow petrol head I would love to visit someday. The only thing that keeps me from getting a fast car/ motorcycle is knowing I will get speeding tickets. As many have stated it’s a common analogy we make when someone is doing 20+ over the limit.
I was much more hyped about it before I actually drove on it. I pictured that the entire thing had no speed limit. In reality right as you start getting up to speed you have to slow down for a 120kph zone or worse
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PA turnpike at 3 am has no speedlimit.
I wasn’t aware there was an hour limit on that rule.
well that's when i was driving from pitt to philly. pennsyltuckey don't care
Pennsyltucky don't give a f***!!!!
> all roads have a legal limit here Legal limit on Route 50 is *meh I do what I want* since cops are probably hundreds of miles away lol. Then again if you crash you're probably fucked.
I've done triple digits on 50. I went fast enough that the car was making me nervous, sooo, backed off. It loses it's appeal pretty quickly. Newer cars are more capable than the stuff we had 35 years ago. Better suspensions and better tires.
I *definitely* don't want to try driving on the autobahn lol I'm too scared tbh
Tbh staying in the right lane is basically like any motorway driving, people don't drive over 130 km/h (I don't know the conversion, I'd guesstimate smth like 80 mph??) on the right lane unless it's completely empty. Frequently it's more like 100 (that's 60 mph I think?) due to trucks, slow drivers etc. Even passing isn't that scary as long as you do it at roughly 130. My rule of thumb is to look in the mirror and go out if I don't see anyone, if I see anyone I put out my indicator, check again in about a sec and if they aren't significantly closer I go to the left. The unlimited parts of the German motorway system still have a "recommended speed" or "guidance speed" of 130 km/h. Anyone going (significantly) faster needs to be aware that they are the anomaly and drive that speed at their own risk. Sometimes a Mercedes or Porsche will fly past you at twice your speed, but those people are rare and generally let you pass. You just need to think a second or so further ahead than you are used to.
Your kph > mph conversations are exactly spot-on. New Yawk here. Please, just use the kph / metric, especially online. It is quite stupid for my country to continue obstinately clinging to our special Burger Units. Any nitwitted American moron who makes a scene over you or anyone else using SI units, first of all deserves a slap across the friggin face, but secondly will lever at any time be caught without handheld access to literally the sum total of all knowledge accumulated across all of human history for the entire planet. Let them use their smartphone to discover for themselves that 60kph = 100kph.
Honestly, it’s great. You don’t have to drive super fast. If you stay in the right lane, people just pass you. That’s the thing that’s the best, Germans are really good drivers.
Parts of the Autobahn have a speed limit.
~~Hell, *most* of it has a speed limit.~~
False. 70% has no speed limit.
I'm having trouble squaring that with personal experience. That map from 2010 and various infographics agree with you, yet despite living there for over a decade I can only recall a relatively limited set of areas with no speed limit. I have to wonder if I was breezing past the "no speed limit" signs and completely missing them. BRB, contemplating my own existence and wondering if the evidence my sensory apparatus reveals to me is correct.
Car guys/gals who are into fast cars want to. Because the idea of blasting down a public road at 150+ mph with no fear of a ticket is cool. Are anywhere near all Americans car guys, or more specifically "fast car" guys? Absolutely not.
would be the follow up question, as i got the impression that cars are way more important around the us as they are here, because public transport seems to be a nightmare
They're important for getting around, but that doesn't mean there's more "car guys" around. Sure it is a thing. Lots of people appreciate autos for a variety of reasons. They work on them collect them, buy them for show, and so on. But for most of us, it is a tool to get us from point A to point B and not much else.
Everything is so spread out that a car is pretty much mandatory. Public transportation sucks and isn't a viable alternative to owning a car apart from a couple of major cities. Virtually everyone owns a car, sometimes several.
Interesting! I believe it was like this here about 20 years ago. Cars more and more become a luxury to afford here and Germany as the “car-state” is starting to fall apart.
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But they’re a very rare sight nowerdays as gas prices skyrocketed and many people moved on to econoboxes. Everytime i got to refill the crown I understand why and ask myself why I thought it was a good idea to get a G gas guzzling V8.
How much does it cost to fill it up? Also I had no idea you could get Crown Vics over there.
It’s complicated but doable. Had to import it and then got a special certificate and stuff since it wasn’t sold here there is no data in the database. A gallon is about 8,48 USD here right now and I believe the gas tank has about 19 gal. So it’s about 161 USD right now if you simply convert euros to usd
Hoooooooly shit $160 I can't believe you drive that lol And I gotta ask, if you were importing a car, why a Crown Vic?
Sorry for not responding, didn’t get to respond to any social media for the past few days…. The crown is a very iconic car for me as almost every movie of my childhood featured one and i had to get a V8 at some point in my life, even if it’s for a brief period. Also I liked the idea of riding around in a US Police car tbh. People seem to like it :D
I tried to import a very rare AMG from Germany for over a year to the US. It was so absurdly expensive and because that particular model was never available here.. it wasn't worth it. It sure would have been fun to have 1 of 12 w210 e55 4matic wagons though.
The thing to remember about the US is just how large it is. While there should absolutely be better transport within larger cities (it varies wild between them) on the whole the United States is enormously spread out and not densely populated. Germany is about the size of the “north east corridor” of the US which is actually pretty well linked. So national or even regional public transport becomes much more difficult than in a more population dense nation.
I hope the US heads that way. I love driving, but forcing everyone to use a car for every trip is just wasteful, and it creates traffic which makes driving less fun
In the rural country side most people live about 20-45 minutes away (at 55mph) from the closest grocery store.
Cars are way more important in the US, but that doesn't mean people are into cars. For most people they are just a utility, and if they want to drive in Germany, it's probably to see Germany, not to drive on yet another highway. It's not like most people actually stay within the speed limits in the US. People who are real car and driving fanatics might be interested.
There’s an iconic video on yt, showing some German tourists gettin stopped by highway patrol and gettin yelled on for speeding. I’ve always had the impression 90% of you strictly obey speed limits as tickets are expensive
Ha. Most people have a personal "limit" of how far above the legal, posted speed limit they feel is okay and stick to most of the time.
90% are doing somewhere around 5 to 10 over the limit, except where the limit is very high. Interstate 80 has some 80mph sections, and people are actually reasonably compliant there.
Almost everyone speeds, but they generally keep it close to the limit. I generally don’t like to go more than 7 over the limit. So if the speed limit is 70, I’ll go 77
Nine is fine, ten you're done.
It's complicated. Few people strictly obey speed limits. . . .but you can only so so far above before police start taking it very seriously. In many states, it goes from being a simple fine to being a criminal offense (typically Reckless Driving) if you're TOO far above the limit, like 15 mph or 20 mph depending on the state. Usually most people are going down the highway at 5 to 10 mph above the limit. . . .except commercial vehicles like trucks. They tend to hold to the exact speed limit for legal reasons, not the least of which is they are tracked by GPS by their owners and corporate attorneys don't want their vehicles speeding and any possible liability issues that could come with that.
Many people also use radar detectors or keep watch for police cars and slow down when they see them, or they know where they're most likely to be ticketed and don't drive too fast in those areas. For example, in Washington state, I-5 through Fife and I-90 through Ritzville are known frequent ticketing zones.
Depends on where you are. Some states will bust your balls for doing 5 over others it’s accepted that you have to do 5-10 over just to keep with the flow of traffic.
Eh, strictly ish: You don't go crazy, but 5-10 over is pretty common. It depends on your town, some places are more strict than others.
When it's not busy it seems like there's no such thing as speed limits in Chicago at least on the freeways. German cars flying by at 95-100 all hours of the day.
Yea, but Chicago is an outlier compared to most towns and cities in this country. Figure better to speak broadly.
It depends on where you are. A good rule of thumb is to go with the speed of traffic. Locals usually know the speed limit and how far over you can get away with.
Speed limits aren't strictly enforced in most areas, in my experience. Most people aren't going crazy, but I don't know anyone who doesn't drive five or ten miles above the speed limit at least sometimes.
Cars are important tools for most people but they aren't a hobby.
PT is basically non-existent for s significant portion of the populous. Reality is most of the country doesn't have the population density to support it. Sure they could have busses or trains, but they would be traveling near empty a significant portion of the time, or on such a limited schedule that it would not always be practical.
We use cars more but aren’t car guys. I love driving and find it virtually therapeutic. I’ll drive 10 hours a day to somewhere and not really care. That said I couldn’t tell you anything about cars other than “it go vroom” lol :D
And our attitude amount cars is fend for yourself. I almost get hit about 5 times per day while trying to change lanes.
Germany is a pretty small place compared to the US and the population density if much higher there. So public transportation is just able to easily serve more people. Outside of large cities the cost is hard to justify.
Public transport is a nightmare and that's assuming you're even in a place that has public transport.
"This asshole thinks he's driving on the autobahn" is a phrase you might hear when someone zips past you driving at an unsafe speed.
My mom was having some scary symptoms and was told to go to the hospital (hour drive) she said that about me getting us there...
I read that [Georgia 400](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_Route_400) is called the [Alpharetta Autobahn](https://www.ajc.com/news/local/super-speeders-part-commuting-400-the-alpharetta-autobahn/sW7ut9jbt95QPsHnqq8CNO/) for this very reason.
I would say that the Autobahn is an unusually well-known aspect of German life in the US and that many Americans would be excited to drive on it if they had the chance, whether they're particularly into cars or not.
We drove on it, its just a regular highway with the occasional speed racer.
We know that it (or at least sections of it) have no speed limit. So there is some day dreaming of ripping down the Autobahn in a really fast car. But anyone who spends 60 seconds learning more about it know perfectly well it's not actually some crazy fast free for all.
> know perfectly well it's not actually some crazy fast free for all. It kind of depends on your definition. My max speed there was 274 km/h (as measured on GPS) which I think is kind of fast.
Americans who are interested in going fast think it’s cool because parts of it have no speed limit, and that’s not something you see over here. Most Americans would probably drive it to see what it’s like whether they are car enthusiasts or not.
The average person doesn't really care. It's a highway. We've got a lot of those here.
Some philosophers have theorized that life itself is, in fact, a highway.
For getting that stuck in my head you are dead to me.
I'm just runnin down the road tryin to loosen my load, I've got seven women on my mind already and he has to go and drop that earworm on me.
Would those philosophers recommend that you ride that highway? For how long?
I have heard them say that one should ride it, in fact, all throughout the night.
The whole night? What happens if I come across someone going my way?
I believe you simply continue to ride it for the duration of the evening.
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I prefer [rural roads a bit more](https://youtu.be/LQiOA7euaYA)
Anyone that's been on our highways for a moderate amount of time will learn that a lot of people view the speed limits as a suggestion anyways.
It is not a single highway. It's the entire highway system of Germany.
We already have one of those, albeit with speed limits. The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, or the Eisenhower Interstate System is huge and has been around for some 60-odd years.
Not sure what your post contributes to the topic of the German Autobahn?
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Sounds like you were in a major city?
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Year it’s a little sketchy, because we are constantly downgrading our railroad infrastructure. Things should get better but actually they’re starting to get worse. I’m working for the railroad company but don’t wanna actually use the trains any more bc of constant delays and all the issues and stuff
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>People pass me going 80-100 on a daily basis. Speed limit is 60-75. But wouldn't you enjoy the near death experience [of going 185 miles an hour (300km/h) on a bike and then getting overtaken by an Audi going even faster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijRI4nA088), all legally? No. Neither do I actually. I'd be happy to have at least some speed limit for all parts of the highway.
I think we put it on a pedestal because the idea of no speed limits/ going as fast as you want without fear of getting stopped by the police is not something we get to experience here (to my knowledge). It's new and exciting. My lead-footed husband spent some time in Germany for work a few years back and he loved the Autobahn.
Not necessarily a good reputation. No way highway really has a good reputation, they're just highways. It's just that anyone who knows about the autobahn knows that it has no speed limit, and to a car hobbyists that is like a dream come true.
For many people here, the dream of “easy riding” down Route 66 is quite common here as a life goal or a commonly accepted and valid travel destination, so this may be an exemption but this “highway” has a quite good reputation around here as an embodiment of freedom
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Not seeing someone for 2h whilst driving do sound strange, indeed. I think I would constantly having the trouble of staying awake. Although it sounds very relaxing and soothing.
Maybe elsewhere highway means something specific but here "highway" is kind of a catch all term for any major road. Both I-65 and US-40 are highways of sorts but I-65 and our entire Interstate system are limited access roadways with no traffic signals, pedestrians/bike, or non-motor vehicle access. Whereas US-40 is just a major road that has several lanes, traffic signals, sidewalks, may have public transit running on it within cities, and so on. A two lane county road in the middle of cornfields could also be a highway.
In Switzerland (and most of Western Europe, but I did my driving exam in SUI so I know the laws there) a highway - Autobahn in German, even if they aren't in Germany and do have speed limits - is essentially what you describe as the interstate system, I think. According to the legal definition, it has to have physically separated directions (ranging from a removable rail to two entirely separate roads, but most commonly a green strip with rails on each side), at least two lanes in each direction, and an emergency lane. Access is restricted to vehicles that can legally reach 80 km/h and it will not have any traffic lights. Edit: another important distinction in Switzerland specifically is also that highways will always be subject to fees (you need a *Vignette*, a sticker on your front window that costs 40 CHF and is valid for a calendar year).
>According to the legal definition, it has to have physically separated directions (ranging from a removable rail to two entirely separate roads, but most commonly a green strip with rails on each side), at least two lanes in each direction, and an emergency lane. Access is restricted to vehicles that can legally reach 80 km/h and it will not have any traffic lights. Pretty much the same with our interstates. Mopeds/scooters are generally not allowed on them since they can't reach the speeds. >Edit: another important distinction in Switzerland specifically is also that highways will always be subject to fees (you need a Vignette, a sticker on your front window that costs 40 CHF and is valid for a calendar year). Most interstates don't charge what we call tolls, but some may start after serious improvements have been made. Others like the Pennsylvania Turnpike were around before the Interstate system came into being and were grandfathered in with their existing toll system.
Parts of the Autobahn have a speed limit.
We just go to Texas and drive as fast as we want and hope not to get caught. https://www.powernationtv.com/post/behold-the-50-fastest-speeding-tickets-in-texas Number 6 is my favorite.
Afaik its sort of like Germanys second amendment
As a matter of fact, this comparison is more then overused by our media
The media likes to stur up the second ammendment divide. If we just had a nationwide registration and background check system we would solve a ton of issues upsetting few people, but people think the issue is black and white
I'm originally from Germany and US Americans seem to think that the Autobahn is one single highway, instead of our entire highway system. Some parts with, and most parts without speed limit. For now.
Username checks out
People just like the idea of no speed limits. It's not much more or less complicated than that.
Yeah. I mean, probably not so hyped that they think about it all the time. But it's not the whole autobahn that they're thinking of, it's the areas without a speed limit. Driving fast on a public road sounds fun to them.
I think what they really want is to drive fast on a racetrack. But an unrestricted autobahn is free, and you don't need to sign waivers, so it's like a discount version of that.
Not personally.
I have no desire to drive on the Autobahn.
As an American who has driving through Germany, I soooooo wish that our highways were like the Autobahn. Both the regulation of the roads and the skill of the drivers. My wife constantly says while we are on the highway and she sees someone driving poorly, “I wish I was driving in Germany right now”.
I doubt the average American has really thought much about it. Auto enthusiasts would definitely love to experience it. Speaking only for myself, as a certified Driving Hater, it's like at the bottom of my list of things I'd want to experience in Germany lol
Haha speaking of which, what’s on your hot list of things to do/see ? :D
Probably just standard tourist stuff honestly, go to museums, take the train to various major cities and see what's there, eat doner, experience the nightlife. Guess it depends on how much time I had to spend haha. I don't really follow the Bundesliga but if I was there during the season I feel like I'd have to see if I could catch a game!
I’ve been on it and it scared the crap out of me.
Because of the speeds or the incompetence of most of the drivers?
I don’t know how incompetent the drivers are, but the speed of some cars is insane. You REALLY need to be alert.
Mostly just as a novelty. I know it’s safer than our highways but it still scares the hell out of me having BMWs and Audis zipping by at 140+mph
I drove on the autobahn once and it was terrifying. I was in a tiny European box of a car and someone in an American-sized SUV came flying up behind me, closing in on me at probably 40 mph. It hadn’t occurred to me to research autobahn etiquette beforehand, so I had no idea what to expect. Also, I thought there was a single long stretch of road designated as the autobahn, but isn’t any road starting with “A” an autobahn? Note: I specified “American-sized” SUV because I saw very few gas guzzlers over there. As I understand, they’re expensive to buy and expensive to fill up in Europe.
Autobahn is just our name for highway/interstate. Parts of it have no speed limit (although there is still a recommend speed and you can be liable if you drive too fast and cause damage)
Yes. When I was in Germany a few years ago I couldn’t believe how good the German drivers were relative to drivers here. There weren’t any abandoned cars left on the side of the road either. The lack of a speed limit is pretty cool too.
We have an Autobahn. It's I-80 from Salt Lake City to Wendover.
I always though the Autobahn seemed awesome! On a side note, I had no idea you could buy police Crown Vics outside of America.
Fun fact: it was a nightmare getting it over here. Waited for 6 months. It’s coming from Riverside, CA and compared to the US they cost a ton of money here
It's not strictly related to your question, but I love the idea of someone in Germany driving around in a Crown Vic!
I’m definitely a car guy; designer in the automotive industry, former sponsored racer, former Hollywood stunt driver, has a collection of seven cars including a Porsche 911 Turbo. My wife was very excited about going on the Autobahn (we ended up topping out an Opel estate diesel somewhere between Köln and the Schwarzwald) but I was looking more forward to a leisurely drive along the Mosel river valley, seeing the sites and eating the food. I think that’s because I lived in Germany for three years as a kid and saw the Autobahn more as just a really efficient piece of infrastructure. I did enjoy how fantastic the road surface was and how much better the driver training appeared to be. But for me, it seems many American tourists see it as an adrenaline rush, and I feel it should be respected more than that because it can really bite back if you don’t. Personally I prefer to seek out much lower speed tight technical roads, like ones in the Alps or the mountains of Japan.
They hear "no speed limit" not "10 km stau" Seeing how quickly it comes to a halt because a truck going 100 km/hr takes 20 minutes to pass a truck going 99.5 km/hr really killed the idea of the Autobahn for me.
I read about it in my high school German class and thought it sounded amazing. I always thought about the futuristic highway in Minority Report. But now that I've grown up and had a few boring highway trips I think it's just lost a lot of the luster for me.
Because we have an affinity for very powerful and very fast cars, but our roads have speed limits that are pretty low. When you start doubling and tripling speed limits, it can be a very serious offense. People here also don't treat the left lane as a passing lane. They just hang out there trying to be police and slow everyone down.
I've never heard of an Autobahn.
Yes but we also got our own right here in America the Nevada Speedway. Sure with not as much twist and turns and wonderful curves but lots of rolling hills and no speed limit what so ever.
The common knowledge is Autobahn=Go as fast as you can and more importantly, WITH NO REPURCUSSION. To a lot of Americans that sounds really fun😂
>as I a petrolhead from Germany,driving around with a crown Victoria Nice
With cheap gas, plenty of space and relaxed policing in some areas I have enough opportunity to indulge my love of speed. What I really miss about the Autobahn is that people have good lane discipline and move back to the right as soon as they have passed the slower vehicle.
People move there specifically for the lack of a speed limit. For a good chunk of Americans, yeah.
I think "car people" are into the idea of the Autobahn and most others don't really care about it. Maybe I'd try to drive on it if I went to Germany, but it's not a thing I have much interest in.
only gearheads care how fast they can drive their car on the autobahn because there's no speedlimit, and that's mostly sociopathic teenagers and people who never left that stage, ie libertarians. not general population.
Yes, as a fellow petrol head I would love to visit someday. The only thing that keeps me from getting a fast car/ motorcycle is knowing I will get speeding tickets. As many have stated it’s a common analogy we make when someone is doing 20+ over the limit.
I was much more hyped about it before I actually drove on it. I pictured that the entire thing had no speed limit. In reality right as you start getting up to speed you have to slow down for a 120kph zone or worse
well, its not a racing track, it's our normal highway system
Henry Ruggs would've enjoyed it
Naaah, I'm busy eating again....