adamstasiak

This is why I always told them that Jap cars are crap. When they think Lexus they think Crap.

jordan345

Its almost hard to believe the responses here are so blatantly ignorant of moral obligation. As a community we all are likely to be a bit enamoured with our cars and those who love the acceleration and speed even more so - but there is a place for driving in this manner. As a former Albertan, i unfortunately can't see the province enacting similar legislation to what Ontario has regarding immediate car seizure, license suspension and a fine up to $10,000 any time soon.

OP, you are increasing the liklihood of killing other people and their families, yourself, plus the strong possibility of facing a manslaughter charge, imprisonement (resulting in abandoning your family) etc.

Grab a pair and use some common sense - take it to a closed course, moron.

maxaudi

1) Not necessarily true. Only once a Merz stayed behind me at 25-30 meters waiting for me to change the lane after I passed another vehicle; and that was because it was heavy raining. Otherwise you can count on 10-15m max.

2) Absolutely not true: flashing the lights is now illegal in Germany.

3) Never saw something like this. Making room for cars running at 200km/h, and over, when you drive 150-160km/h is somenthing that is not worth taking into account.

4) True, and that is a very important rule: passing on the right is also illegal in Germany.

[ From Jan 2008 till Nov 2009 I made 12 trips to Germany, and spent 2 weeks on each trip. ]

I agree with you when it comes to the discipline on the highways in NA; so many times I was behind a car on the fast lane whose driver refused to change lane, and it is the law saying that that lane is a passing one, and not a cruising one.

adamstasiak

SPEED = DEATH IS FALSE ASSUMPTION

In the places where they increased the speed limit to 130 km/hr they reduced deaths by 40%. We have 8 deaths per billion km travelled when the Brits have it at 6, Germans at 5. Increased speed limit in Canada would mean that these 3 people dead right now would be alive!
This is for a number of reasons.

Increased speed limit does this:
1. Shortens the trip
2. Takes impaired drivers off the road (they know they will be killed if they drive)
3. Takes drug junkies out, as it is too fast for them
4. Drivers take good care of their maintenance
5. Drivers stay away from each other on the road (nobody follows you at 2 feet)
6. Drivers are less likely to have long conversation on the phone while driving
7. People when travelling in groups will choose the best driver to drive the vehicle

As I take it, you say that knives should be banned from the restaurants.....

maxaudi

Those are personal assumptions... It takes much-much more then this to educate the NA drivers. I would start with a much harsher exam.

I am one of those who believe in increased speed limits on the Canadian highways.

adamstasiak

Thanks for that.
My observations are from 10 years ago and I only travelled on Frankfurt - Berlin Highway.

Darryl

The only one of these things that could be scientifically proven would be the first one. And even that could be debated when factoring in distance traveled vs number of times needed to refuel.

The rest are things that you decided to make up with no more evidence than your own opinion.

vgorous

iTrader: (1)

Are the higways/freeways in Germany have the same layout here in Canada? Traffic flow? Population?

maxaudi

I found the autobahns in Germany more crowded then the highways in Canada; 81mil people in Germany vs. 34mil in Canada + Canada 25 times larger then Germany...
The big difference is the way the Germans are building their highways: 4ft deep foundation vs. only 2 ft in Canada. It's true that the autobahns have usually 3-4 lanes, but even when they get to only 2 lanes the speed limit doesn't change. The Germans have learned the driving lessons the hard way, because at those high speeds an accident is usually fatal. As Adam said they are very disciplined: starting from the first lane on the right, and ending with the last lane on the left (fast lane) they change the lanes according to the speed they drive. After passing, and if the next lane on the right is free they go back to that lane. In short, as an example: if I drive on the fast lane, and if I need to exit the autobahn I can go straight to the exit changing 3-4 lanes without checking to see if there are any vehicles coming from my right; I will have the highest speed.
The trucks crossing/driving in Germany are allowd a max speed of 90km/h. The police check their speed recording devices very often, and the fines for exceeding the speed limit are around 500Euros. Very steep ! No truck driver can afford it.

I really respect the fact that the German law allows the drivers to drive as fast as they want despite my fear for high speeds; I have driven only once 200km/h just for the fun of it. I didn't like it; I didn't feel secure. My cruising speed was always 150km/h. At this speed, I was passed by a Lamborghini doing around 250. Within 3 seconds I couldn't see its rear any longer. Nice !!!

Two things to mention:
1) Because of the no speed limit on the autobahns the car owners have to prove that their cars are safe; the mandatory annual car and tires checks are very severe;

2) In case a driver is involved in a car accident, and the police determines that the speed was over 140km/h the insurance covers only half of the cost.

In regards to the speed limit in Canada, I would like to have it like in France: 130km/h on dry pavement, and 110km/h on wet. But NA's governments are trying to save money when building the highways, and also save oil. Germany doesn't have oil, but Canada would be the 3rd highest oil producer if part of OPEC.

hoeser

Adam, did you eat a lot of paint chips as a kid?