Why don't we have an Autobahn?

So, to summarize:

German licensing procedures/tests are far more stringent and expensive than in the US.

German cars have better brakes and are driven by more skilled occupants.

Germany has better protection against wildlife crossing high speed roadways.

German drivers know and practice safe driving techniques, including lane control.

Many American drivers are clueless idiots who do NOT know how to drive,
and they view driving as a troublesome chore that they must endure on a daily basis.

And the #1 reason why we don't have an Autobahn:

You can't collect tons of money through speeding ticket revenues on an 'Autobahn'!
 
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rayjay said:
Driving in the USA is also a privilege, not a right, and can be revoked/suspended for cause.

I was out on the NYS Thruway (I90) last Saturday. For those that have never driven on that interstate, it is a very limited access toll road, mostly straight, flat and wide. More and more I notice that I have to pass mahroons doing under the speed limit, in the hammer lane, on the right because they are clueless as to what high beam flashing means. Not to mention they have no business being out there in the 1st place.

A US autobahn = highway of death & destruction... due to skill less imbies practicing their privilege. :rolleyes:
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We know the interstate system is your own private Autobahn Ray. Who's going to give you a speeding ticket?:D
 
Vortex said:
If youve lived in Germany you know the krauts pride themselves on their driving. You would also know when they do have a wreck on the autobahn (usually on foggy, rainy days) its a flaming conflagration with bunches of folks killed at a time.
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So very true. To pass their driving test is no joke and their cars are inspected to ensure they won't suffer any mechanical failures and if they have an accident it takes a lot for that vehicle to be allowed back on the road. Most of the time they just sell their salvage vehicles to GI's for a couple of cases of booze (back in the day). I have been witness to a few of those flaming piles of wreckage and had a good friend toasted that way while racing a Porsche.
 
Plus the Safety Nazi's and lawsuits would make it impossible here. Heck, it's a misdemeaner to go over 100. Besides, everybody in the passing lane goes exactly the speed limit anyways.
 
rayjay said:
Driving in the USA is also a privilege, not a right, and can be revoked/suspended for cause.

I was out on the NYS Thruway (I90) last Saturday. For those that have never driven on that interstate, it is a very limited access toll road, mostly straight, flat and wide. More and more I notice that I have to pass mahroons doing under the speed limit, in the hammer lane, on the right because they are clueless as to what high beam flashing means. Not to mention they have no business being out there in the 1st place.

A US autobahn = highway of death & destruction... due to skill less imbies practicing their privilege. :rolleyes:
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CBT said:
That is considered "road rage" around here and people will actually call the police instead of moving over, and if you get caught you will get every aggressive driving ticket they can throw at you.
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Not sure why they would ticket you for flashing lights to pass when that signal is specifically noted as part of the defensive driving curriculum here in Texas.

Of course, the left lane on numbered highways is also supposed to be for passing only, too. Not that I have ever seen it enforced.
 
BurpyTurtle said:
Of course, the left lane on numbered highways is also supposed to be for passing only, too. Not that I have ever seen it enforced.
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Actually there are signs on the NYS Thruway that prohibit driving in the left lane except to pass. It is enforced on a selective basis.
 
I was driving from Dallas to Tucson last May and was pleasantly suprised to find once you get to around Odessa I-20 is marked 80 mph all the way to El Paso; a couple of hundred miles of nothing actually goes by pretty quick.
 
BurpyTurtle said:
Not sure why they would ticket you for flashing lights to pass when that signal is specifically noted as part of the defensive driving curriculum here in Texas.

Of course, the left lane on numbered highways is also supposed to be for passing only, too. Not that I have ever seen it enforced.
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Road rage was pretty bad here a couple years back (not that it has improved any since then) so they started cracking down on "aggresive drivers". Not maintaining a safe distance(tailgating), passing on the right, flashing lights, flipping people off, shaking your fist, all no-no's around here, they even ran ads on T.V. about it. Now people will just hold up thier cell phone and film you if you do those things and then call in your tag to highway patrol to get you pulled over.
 
Blackened300a said:
Its simple. Do you have any idea what a 75 car pile up consisting of asian women and senior citizens will look like?
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The Autobahn is not immune to those 100 car pile ups. Generally, they are associated with foggy areas. All cars in Europe have those high intensity taillights (left one) and you can see that left taillight even when everything else disappears. It is not unusual to see a whole line of cars follow each other into the fog bank head-to-tail with very little separation between the cars. They are all hoping that the guy in front knows where he is going or that the sightline extends completely through the fog. Sometimes this doesn't work and the results are catastropic. The Autobahn near Stuttgart is infamous for this.
 
Just like over in Germany, when our highway system was initially setup, it could have been done here, and everyone would be used to it, (maybe). But, there is probably a good point that it would probably be a big hassle as all states would definitely have to institute a more stringent safety inspection practice. They could designate lanes for speeding as they have for carpools and no trucks as they do in Atlanta, not sure how well it is enforcced since i don't live there.

All very good points and some i had not thought of. From some of the comments i see some had entertained the idea as well. A lot of it would be ego's getting in the way. Can you imagine a HOOPTIE in the hammer lane? Just came back from MS and saw some parts of highway that might have worked, others not so well.
 
1stMerc said:
Can you imagine a HOOPTIE in the hammer lane?
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Things are changing even in Europe. During 1975-1978, I never saw anything other than Mercedes, BMWs and Porsches on the autobahn with some VW Bugs and VW vans. Rarely did I ever see anything that would qualify as a Hooptie except for the occasional Citroen 2CV "Deux Chauveau".

When I came back about 8 years later (1986-1989), there were more young people on the road driving used cars. Even with tough inspections, some of these appeared to be borderline ... i.e. they may have passed inspection yesterday; but tomorrow is a different story.

When the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, the floodgates were open and tons of East German cars flooded the highways. Many of them were Trabants (Trabis) and definitely not up to western safety standards. I suspect that German highways a littered with beaters these days.
 
Read an article about a guy in Pa. who collects Trabants. He has a few dozen. As I recall they're Fiat rip offs.

Got to love you guys' love-fest for the German drivers. I used to work in the horse combined driving sport and many of the grooms and caretakers were German. These are not people who I would say were the best at driving cars and I certainly would not get into a car and say floor-it. If they have to take a comprehensive test to get a licence in Germany I think they must test and forget like most high school students.
 
I was stationed in Germany way back in 1992. About all I remember of it were the Mercedes, Audi and BMW taxi cabs and the really good beer.

It's probably a very good thing I never had a POV when I was there.

Also, could you folks imagine what it'd be like to run over a muffler that just fell of the Jeep in front of you at 100+ mph? That's another good reason to have our speed limits.
 
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