0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
scared the soup out of me.
The only problem with German driving is tailgating on the fast lane, which makes them very prone to having nasty high speed pile ups (I think they are getting better about that than they used to be).
Only thing I don't like about requiring cars to have headlights on all the time is that it makes photography more problematic because you have all these bright lights where you do not want it
Quote from: another_someone on 02/07/2007 12:52:52The only problem with German driving is tailgating on the fast lane, which makes them very prone to having nasty high speed pile ups (I think they are getting better about that than they used to be).This does happen, but not to any great extent. And certainly to a far lesser extent than I have seen in the UK. It would appear that German drivers, because cars can be travelling substantially faster than you, are aware that they have rear-view mirrors, and use them accordingly.
It is common in Scandinavia that cars are by law required to have side lights switched on by the ignition - this is because of the high latitudes - it means that during the winter months you have very long hours of darkness, and throughout the year, you have long hours when the sun is very low on the horizon. The problem is, when it is dark, it is fairly obvious that you should have lights on; but when you are driving with the sun low behind you, it is noty obvious to you, but very obvious to anyone driving opposite you, who simply sees a blinding sun, and a small dark shape emerging from it.Only thing I don't like about requiring cars to have headlights on all the time is that it makes photography more problematic because you have all these bright lights where you do not want it - but the balance between road safety and photography clearly has to be on the side of road safety.As for speed limits, until 1973 we did not have speed limits on our motorways - they were introduced as a fuel saving measure, and once introduced, never removed. De facto, motorway speeds here on open road tend to be about 90mph, despite this being illegal.Yes, I do enjoy driving in Germany. When I used to work in Munich, and driving up to Hamburg for the ferry home (in the days when DFDS actually ran a ferry service from Hamburg to Harwich), it was lovely just to open up to 120mph and not have to be looking over my shoulder for police.The only problem with German driving is tailgating on the fast lane, which makes them very prone to having nasty high speed pile ups (I think they are getting better about that than they used to be).
Quote from: another_someone on 02/07/2007 12:52:52Only thing I don't like about requiring cars to have headlights on all the time is that it makes photography more problematic because you have all these bright lights where you do not want it Do you take photo's of traffic? Or the surrounding area? I'm intrigued....
Another factor that used to contribute to tailgating was that German cars would not flash the car in front to get off the lane. In the UK, the normal way of asking someone to move off your lane is to flash your headlights at them, while the Germans tended to sit a few inches off your rear bumper, with their left indicator flashing.
Quote from: another_someone on 02/07/2007 12:52:52It is common in Scandinavia that cars are by law required to have side lights switched on by the ignition - this is because of the high latitudes - it means that during the winter months you have very long hours of darkness, and throughout the year, you have long hours when the sun is very low on the horizon. The problem is, when it is dark, it is fairly obvious that you should have lights on; but when you are driving with the sun low behind you, it is noty obvious to you, but very obvious to anyone driving opposite you, who simply sees a blinding sun, and a small dark shape emerging from it.Only thing I don't like about requiring cars to have headlights on all the time is that it makes photography more problematic because you have all these bright lights where you do not want it - but the balance between road safety and photography clearly has to be on the side of road safety.As for speed limits, until 1973 we did not have speed limits on our motorways - they were introduced as a fuel saving measure, and once introduced, never removed. De facto, motorway speeds here on open road tend to be about 90mph, despite this being illegal.Yes, I do enjoy driving in Germany. When I used to work in Munich, and driving up to Hamburg for the ferry home (in the days when DFDS actually ran a ferry service from Hamburg to Harwich), it was lovely just to open up to 120mph and not have to be looking over my shoulder for police.The only problem with German driving is tailgating on the fast lane, which makes them very prone to having nasty high speed pile ups (I think they are getting better about that than they used to be).GOOD GRIEF MAN ARE YOU GUYS STARK RAVING MAD!!!! 120 MILES PER HOUR.. AND TAILGATERS AT THAT SPEED... oh my gosssssssssh...yousaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! man tHERE IS NO WAY NO WAY THAT i EVER WANT TO BE IN A VEHICLE TRAVELING THAT FAST ON THE GROUND!! holy crud!!!
Perhaps it depends on the region of Germany.
Also, German autobahns are generally 2 lanes, and so lane hogging is less likely. There also appears to be a large difference in the volume of traffic on the autobahns - not only in Germany, but also in many European countries.
I agree that the autobahns in Bavaria were under far less strain than in the north, so there were more 2 lane stretches
Ooohhhh I would love to have de-limitless sections of interstate here! In Florida I think the max is 70 mph, it may be 75 in some places. The fastest I've driven is 95 and I LOVED it! Would loved to have gone even faster but I was on a country road and I was afraid of being busted or of another deer running out in front of me.