The Germans can do it. Why can't we?

Laura Bush murdered her boy friend put down the whiskey long enough to
write:
> There is no place where it's prudent to remove speed limits.

Sure there is....like in Montana and parts of west Texas. THINK!

On 11 Aug 2006 20:07:35 -0700, "Laura Bush murdered her boy friend"
> wrote:

>
wrote:
>>
>> Also, the "deer in headlights" crowd who insists on creeping along in
>> the middle lane on a 3 lane carraigeway in thier mini-vans at 10-15 MPH
>> below the speed limit need to be made aware of this law. Most of them
>> have no clue as to how thier driving affects traffic flow, they are
>> like rolling chicane's.
>>
>> Jim K. Georges
>
>You're making stuff up now. There are no people driving freeways 15 mph
>under the limit. And if there are it's still legal so shut up.. But
>speeding is NEVER legal. Stop being a criminal coddler.

You don't drive much, do you?
When the SL is 75,and the minimum is 45 (as is the case often in AZ),
doing 15 under the SL isn't illegal.
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

On 12 Aug 2006 03:11:19 -0700, "bill" > wrote:

>
>Laura Bush murdered her boy friend put down the whiskey long enough to
>write:
>> There is no place where it's prudent to remove speed limits.
>
>Sure there is....like in Montana and parts of west Texas. THINK!

Nope - those are states full of psychopatic pervert rednecks. They
need control more than anyone.

"bill" > wrote in
oups.com:

>
> Laura Bush murdered her boy friend put down the whiskey long enough to
> write:
>> There is no place where it's prudent to remove speed limits.
>
> Sure there is....like in Montana and parts of west Texas. THINK!
>
>

In many (if not most)states there are long straight stretches of Interstate
with good sightlines,distantly spaced interchanges,low traffic,and no
problem with high speeds. As long as KRETP is followed.

the messes of California and the N.Eastern Seaboard are exceptions.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Hi!

Just to correct a few common misconceptions about traffic in Germany:

Billzz wrote:
> Germany has graduated driving licenses, and *all* of the drivers on *all* of
> the Autobahns know *all* of the rules (or they are not allowed to drive the
> Autobahn)

Wrong. We have different licenses for different types of vehicle,
but once you have a license for a specific vehicle, you can drive it
everywhere. Including the Autobahn, of course.

> and so they are very predictable in their actions, unlike the
> "free-form" driving that is done in other places. One always keeps to the
> right, and only pass to the left, and if there are blinking headlights
> behind, immediately dive back to the right.

Wrong. Well, sort of. That's how it is generally done of course,
but we too have our share of idiots, MFFYs, and people who just don't
get it.

> proclaiming how he was proud to drive the speed limit in the left lane. He
> would be dead, or in jail, in Germany.

Wrong. I've seen the likes of him every day.

> The secret to the Autobahn is the drivers, and the cars, both better than
> the US.

Probably correct.

> You may not register a car in Germany if it has any leak, or any
> rust, at all.

Wrong. You may fail the mandatory biannual TÜV inspection if the
leaks are major and/or you failed to wash your car's underside before
getting it inspected, and you may fail it if you have structural rust
or sharp edges on the rust holes in your fenders, but rust as such
doesn't mean you'll fail. And even if you'd fail the inspection with
a car in its current condition, you can still register it if those
two years since its last successful inspection aren't up yet.

> They make no bones about the fact that they do not want
> everyone to drive - it is a rich person's way of life - everyone is supposed
> to take the train.

Wrong. Most people drive here, and it's got nothing to do with
being rich. State welfare doesn't include car cost per se, but you
can make do with it and still own a car. And a driver's license
and car ownership are a prerequisite for quite a lot of jobs.

Yours,
Erik.
--
Ännu vet ingen hur gammal en Volkswagen kan bli.

Hi!

Floyd Rogers wrote:
> Dodge Caravans and Plymouth Voyagers were never
> exported, only Town & Country. Chrysler's 300 was engineered specifically
> to be less than a 6 (?) meters long for similar reasons.

Which reasons would that be? I am not aware of any German
or European legislation that would refer to cars longer than
six metres, or in fact any other specific length. There
certainly must be an upper limit, but I don't think it has
any practical meaning for a passenger car.

Yours,
Erik.
--
Ännu vet ingen hur gammal en Volkswagen kan bli.

Hi!

Rob wrote:
> That's what I was getting at actually. How the speed limits are
> adapted to the conditions and not used where not needed.

Well... sort of. There are many speed limits which I consider
quite unnecessary; it seems that the usual response to a
really severe road accident is to limit the speed at that
location. I'm quite happy with the rather new trend to put
up variable speed limits (with big lighted signs over each
lane that can limit the speed to varying values, announce
blocked lanes, fog, or traffic jams, prohibit overtaking,
and presumably more, all with respect to current conditions
on the stretch of Autobahn that follows.

> If I'm not
> mistaken, drivers are also trained better over there before they get a
> license.

In theory, yes. But there are quite a few exceptionally
clueless, and many more blatantly careless, driving around out
there anyway.

> I also like how the left lane is pass only and I believe
> trucks mostly stay in the right lane.

On a three-lane Autobahn, big trucks aren't allowed in the left
lane. On a two-lane Autobahn, they *are* allowed in the left
lane, unless a specific sign prohibits it. Which is usually
done on long uphill stretches, because loaded trucks are markedly
slower there, whereas on even and downhill stretches they're
all limited to the same speed. (Theoretically, of course.)

The downside to this is that, if I drive a truck and the truck
in front of me is slower uphill than mine, I'll do everything
to overtake it where I can if I can't overtake it uphill.
And if that means that a level ground overtaking manoeuvre
will take a couple of minutes (my speed limiter engaging at
88.5 kph, his at 88.1, for instance), as opposed to the couple
of seconds it wold take uphill (me going maybe 70 kph, he going
40), then so be it.

> We don't need slower
> speeds, we just need better rules and better drivers and stricter
> enforcement against the bad drivers. I'll take a good driver doing 85
> over a bad driver doing 55 any day. The autobahn just proves that
> speed is not the problem, it's how you drive.

I agree. But the Autobahn isn't perfect either. And with
increasing traffic on it, and degrading condition in many places,
it is and will keep getting worse.

Yours,
Erik.
--
"What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together
at the bottom of the ocean?"
"A good start."
-- From "Philadelphia"

"Erik Meltzer" > wrote
> Floyd Rogers wrote:
>> Dodge Caravans and Plymouth Voyagers were never
>> exported, only Town & Country. Chrysler's 300 was engineered
>> specifically
>> to be less than a 6 (?) meters long for similar reasons.
>
> Which reasons would that be? I am not aware of any German
> or European legislation that would refer to cars longer than
> six metres, or in fact any other specific length. There
> certainly must be an upper limit, but I don't think it has
> any practical meaning for a passenger car.

It has (had?) something to do with taxations.

FloydR

Floyd Rogers wrote:

> "Erik Meltzer" > wrote
> > Floyd Rogers wrote:
> >> Dodge Caravans and Plymouth Voyagers were never
> >> exported, only Town & Country. Chrysler's 300 was engineered
> >> specifically
> >> to be less than a 6 (?) meters long for similar reasons.
> >
> > Which reasons would that be? I am not aware of any German
> > or European legislation that would refer to cars longer than
> > six metres, or in fact any other specific length. There
> > certainly must be an upper limit, but I don't think it has
> > any practical meaning for a passenger car.
>
> It has (had?) something to do with taxations.

You think ?

Graham

"Eeyore" > wrote
> Floyd Rogers wrote:
>> "Erik Meltzer" > wrote
>> > Floyd Rogers wrote:
>> >> Dodge Caravans and Plymouth Voyagers were never
>> >> exported, only Town & Country. Chrysler's 300 was engineered
>> >> specifically
>> >> to be less than a 6 (?) meters long for similar reasons.
>> >
>> > Which reasons would that be? I am not aware of any German
>> > or European legislation that would refer to cars longer than
>> > six metres, or in fact any other specific length. There
>> > certainly must be an upper limit, but I don't think it has
>> > any practical meaning for a passenger car.
>>
>> It has (had?) something to do with taxations.
>
> You think ?

Looking around, it's actually 5 meters.

FloydR