Jim,
I hope you don't mind my opinion but.......I agree as a whole that
American drivers aren't as skilled as European drivers are. I also think
They have good and bad drivers just as we do. though they are required to
go through some pretty intense driving courses. There are still the ones
that are a little below average and Such that politics are.... they paid
there fee's and met the minimum requirements. I just think at the higher
speeds the DUMB ones die through attrition, thus increasing the number of
skilled drivers overall in European countries.
I also think the speed Laws were designed to protect all of us
particularly the rubberneckers of the World... can you imagine cruising at
a mere 220 kmh and suddenly coming up on a rubbernecker who just happens to
be stopped in the left lane to admire a new strain of purple japanese
beetle (when the sign clearly states min speed 80kmh)the sign clearly
doesn't pertain to the rubbernecker but a speed limit helps to keep us at a
safe speed allowing us enough time to stop. Thus keeping the skilled
drivers from becoming part of the "dumb ones statistics.
And by the way I almost almost didn't get stopped in time, luckily the
German farmer liked Americans and hated rubberneckers. He didn't mind my
untimely pitstop in his field.....
Cheers,
Tommy Morris
74 Spit
At 11:32 PM 9/25/97 -0400, Sholtes IV wrote:
>James Charles Ruwaldt wrote:
>
>> Why, if speed laws are so well-thought out, is the speed unlimited on the
>> Autobahnen, where the country is so much smaller than ours?
>> Jim Ruwaldt
>> '72 TR6 CC79338U
>> Bloomington, IN
>
>
>Jim,
>
> I would like to say that Germany may be smaller than the U.S., but that
>dosen't change the fact that American drivers aren't as skilled as European
>drivers are. I don't know this firsthand, but I've heard it enough to
beleive
>it. I know, you drive well, I drive well, and everyone on this list is an
>excellent driver- hell, one guy here even is an International Race Car
Driver!
> The problem lies in the fact that overall, it is not very safe to drive
>much faster than the majority of traffic on a crowdwed highway. I don't care
>what you can prove that highways are designed for 70 mph speeds, I'll even
>agree with you on that point. But the reason I stated "> Good luck, it's
a jungle
>out there, and just don't speed..;^)", was that when someone is travelling
>20-30 mph faster than the rest of the traffic, a hazarous situation evolves.
>The faster mortorist, IF he is conscientious enough, MAY begin flashing
passing
>light signals. Most people on the highway these days don't know what the
>heck is going on- or if they do, they might say "I'm going fast enough. This
>guy is a maniac" and refuse to move out of the way. This would NEVER
>occur in Germany. As soon as a car is passed (the ONLY time the left lane
>is used in Germany) the left lane is left open again for faster traffic.
> So back to our speeding motorist- seeing that the person "parked" in the
>left lane won't move, he begins to think of ways to get around him. Will he
>use the middle lane? Will he use the right lane? Or will he just "intimidate"
>the left lane bandit, by tailgating him into submission? You don't know
>do you?, and neither do I- or any of the nearby motorist (now nervously
wasting
>our time watching the rearview mirrors) know what this speeder will do
next...
> I beleive that is what Tom Tweed meant when he said "> Now that any
half-wit
>> can buy a RADAR detector and make believe that he can drive just like
the Dukes
>>of Hazzard on your crowded freeway, I see a conflict..."
>
> All this being said, I do make allowances for- 1)other peoples
emergencies, causing
>a normally law abiding person to "have to" drive at a high rate of speed,
2)a person
>driving fast on an uncrowded road, 3)the general rate of traffic flow
being faster
>than posted limits (which I agree most times are too low), and 4)actually
liking to
>watch re-runs of "The Dukes of Hazard" (I like '69 Chargers & girls in
shorts...).
>
> JOE IV
> TR 250
> WALLINGFORD, CT. USA
> OCCASIONAL SPEEDER
>
>
|