Here's a neat link to the German Autobahn.
Get yourself some Farfugnugen.

www.german-way.com/german/autobahn.html

 

glennnn,

Cool link. IMO this country needs to follow suit and stop being so liberal with it's driving requirements.

I spent 13 years in Japan with the USAF... they too have very strict motor vehicle laws. Anyone with a license is considered a "professional" driver and held accountable. As such, the blame for an accident is almost always divided between the parties involved. It may be 5% me the victum and you the other 95% or any other number combination. Nobody walks away free and clear.

I am very impressed with their strict but fair inspection and insurance laws. The car must be 100% roadworthy and insurance must be maintained at all times. The insurance companies are required to notify the police when your insurance expires, in which case they actually track down the car and remove the tags. No tags... go straight to jail, post bond and the vehicle is impounded untill all fees and fines have been paid.

Also, in Tokyo, where empty space is at a premium you have to show proof you have a legal parking spot to park your car where you live. They too spend big bucks to attend driving school and for one year drive around with a "new driver" sticker on their car.

For as crowded as Japan is, automobile accidents are not as common as they are here. It never stops to amaze me how Americains can roll a vehicle on a four lane ave or blvd in town much less on the freeways.

Just my added piece of motoring trivia on the subject... ;-)

 

[quote="glennnn"]Here's a neat link to the German Autobahn.
Get yourself some Farfugnugen.

LOL, It's Fahrvergngen.... :wink:

 

Hi Glenn,

nice link....makes me miss it terribly :-) There are unfortunately now many parts of the Autobahn were limits are posted due to traffic congestion easement and other reasons. But a lot of it is still wide open...as fast as you and your car can handle.

What I like is the use of displays instead of "fixed" signs. So sometimes the limit may be 100km/h, sometimes 130km/h or the favorite of all a white circle with 4 diagonal lines through it......WIDE Open

AJ makes a good point on the insurance and lawsuit part of it. That is one major difference between here and back in Germany.

Also all vehicles in Germany must undergo a very strict inspection every 2 years..the first one after 3 years...that checks everything for function to 90% as good as new....and if you don't pass...you don't drive until fixed.

Sometimes a fix is technically possible but not approved by the manufacturer and if your car has that particular problem....it's done.
The front suspension on the VW Bug was such an item.....VW had just released the Golf and it was not selling too good..because you know the Bug ...it runs and runs and runs.... So VW did not approve a replacement suspension brace to be welded in.........for a period of years. And then once the Golf was established and plenty Bugs gone to the junkyard...the same piece was suddenly legal to be installed on the remaining Bugs.

But in modern cars....the challenge is really not what it used to be....Our babys for example don't require any special skills to do 140-150 on a nicely paved an engineered piece of Highway....dealing with other traffic is a different subject. Plenty non-german visitors learn that quickly...some the hard way. To counter that the first 10-20 Kilometers inland from the borders are "foreigner-prooved" with speed limits so they can get used to it and mix in a little ;-)

As far as I know you can drive into Switzerland without paying for the Vignette...you just can't use their Highways...but I could be mistaken there ;-)

 

It doesn't amaze me at all. Cellphones, makeup application, chatting with the passenger and not looking at the road, I could go on forever. We've heard some chat here recently about speeding, tickets, law enforcement, etc. There is NO DOUBT in my mind the day I was going 115 on I-10 eastbound I was safer than the goofball going 65 but chatting on his cellphone. For one simple reason: I was 100% focused on what I was doing, namely DRIVING.

So for all the self-appointed law enforcement types out there who go 55 in the left lane, go home to your equally self-absorbed spouse and engage in self-congratulatory chatter about how you're "being safe", I have one simple request: Get out of the left lane, get out of the way, and then, maybe then, the reality of what you are doing may match your perception.

 

Yeah...like watching DVD's :evil: :evil: :evil:

And in-car mapping navigation systems... these things ought to be banned. Much safer is the European approach of no mapping display, just voice prompts.

If the car is moving, these sorts of displays should be disabled.

IMHO, >THE< reason we have such restrictive, draconian, traffic laws here in the USA is because too many people view driving as their RIGHT, rather than the PRIVELEDGE it is. Distracted driving kills people.