Speed limits dont work, road design determines how fast people go.
A section of the A24 was limited to 130 kmph for 20 years to reduce accidents. Because the reduction the speed limit was lifted early this year. Now there are 8% more accidents with injury and 42% more injured. Politicians call now to make it possible to limit the section again.
For highway lowering the speed may be effective but lowering the speed limit from 50 to 30 won’t stop drivers from going 50 unless the road is designed for lower speeds. So long as lanes are wide and there are little obstructions for drivers to worry about hitting, such as bumpouts, boulevards, etc., they will go as fast as they feel comfortable unless there is a cop behind them.
Edit: 50kmh to 30kmh I don’t know what that is in freedom miles
it looks like it’s designed for pretty extreme speeds
Unlike the average driver.
It’s not actually. It’s quite an old network so it was built before cars could go as fast as they can go now. There are surprisingly sharp corners and very short off ramps. If it were built from scratch today it would be even safer. Speed limits are bs outside of particularly tricky areas.
Is the image from the article not of the highway in question?
Ah yep my bad, I was speaking generally. The image in the article is only a short section of highway but it does look like one of the 2 lane sections that are usually quite old. If they were more modern and built for higher speeds they’d have an even shallower curve and would probably be 3 lanes with a hard shoulder. If you drive on the Autobahn you’ll have a few moments where you notice the difference in road layout from those which more modern highways implement - the on and off ramps in particular can be a bit scary.
Speed limits absolutely do work if there are cameras and consequences. Unfortunately everyone seems to have decided that suspending licences and siezing cars is a human rights violation.
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High gasoline prices also influence the average speed on the highways. The vast majority of people do not usually go faster than 120, many even less.
Idk, I’m seeing plenty of people here for whom gasoline is evidently not expensive enough yet
That is the problem, people with high end cars have enough money to pay an expensive fuel. Apart with an industry which mostly expensive high end E-cars, the high fuel prices only affect the people wich don’t have money for such cars.
Well the funny part is that it’s not even people in high-end cars that I’m seeing
I was referring to those who go 300 on the highway, difficult for those with an old Ford Fiesta.
The Autobahn has become very tiring to drive on. Most people somehow decided that its easiest to drive in the middle lane at slow(ish) speeds, while the right lane stays empty for long stretches. Since you are not allowed to overtake on the right lane, both the left lane and the middle lane are clogged most of the time, averaging about 100-120 Km/h. If the public transportation was a bit more reliable and cheaper I would sell my car.
The problem is that even in low traffic, there is a truck on the right lane every few meters. Often, after you switch to the right lane, someone decides to drive right next to you, forcing you to brake.
It’s just more comfortable to stay in the middle lane.Now IMHO the real problem is when trucks are overtaking with 101km/h…
It’s just more comfortable to stay in the middle lane.
It’s stil a dick move if the rightmost lane is free. Then you’re effectively overtaking a phantom car at the exact same velocity (as nobody is allowed to pass right).
I agree but need to have “free” defined. If there’s another truck 100/200m ahead then it’s a pain in the ass because like the other said, others behind you won’t do the same and will do a slight acceleration when you go in the right lane (because free space in front = accelerate hurr durr), preventing you from changing lanes again when you get to the next truck and so you have to brake and hope you get a gap again soon to overtake the truck.
If it’s literally empty as far as the eye can see then yeah, move over!
The rightmost lane is never completely free. And if it is, almost all drivers do use it.
What makes your right to go fast on the left lane more important than their right to go a reasonable ~120km/h in the middle lane?
What makes your right to go fast on the left lane more important than their right to go a reasonable ~120km/h in the middle lane?
Nothing, but that wasn’t the created scenario. If the right lane isn’t free, do stick in the middle lane of course (squishing two vehicles together isn’t gonna make them go faster, usually). The scenario created was talking of an empty right lane, which should only exist on the left side, as we should drive on the right side of the road.
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trucks are overtaking with 101km/h
As trucks are governed to a Vmax of 90 kph, and some even to 85 kph, I would suggest you get your speedometer checked, because it sounds like the advancement, required by law, is too high. It shouldn’t show more than 7% more than your actual speed. Truck speedos are more rigorously controlled and show an average of 2 kph too much at 80 kph, so trucks overtaking at 101 kph is not normally possible - of course, speedo manipulation does occur, but it isn’t so rampant that they all overtake at 101 kph.
Okay, I never looked at a truck’s speedometer. The point is they are overtaking just slightly faster.
It certainly feels like most trucks are going at least 90 km/h regularly.
The point is they are overtaking just slightly faster.
Trucks also spent long stretches in the same order, sometimes they change things up.
The speeds of trucks are measured on-board by a tachograph, so any big deviation can give them a fine, even if they weren’t caught on the spot.
And that 20 second delay really isn’t gonna impact the trip as a whole. Just rolling with it will make your trip less stressful, and therefore more enjoyable. If you’re late, rushing through traffic isn’t gonna make a significant impact, except on your risk of accidents.
And that 20 second delay really isn’t gonna impact the trip as a whole.
That is true. Therefore there shouldn’t be a problem with drivers driving a steady speed in the middle lane.
Truck driver have timelines. It is totally okay, if they need to occupy the middle lane. Sometimes even the left lane. It is more rare then middle lane sitters.
But what is not okay is that the cultural habit of “don’t clog” has forgotten. People are ignorant shits these days when entering cars.
If you decide to travel via 100 kph and do not want to flow with the traffic, then just stick to the right lane and flow with the trucks?! This way you have the most fuel savings as well.
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Truck drivers are running a commercial operation, I shouldn’t have to be inconvenienced so they can more easily make money - especially not when that inconvenience is caused by them not following the rules of the road.
It is about the person sitting inside the ferry. Once you work together with drivers you will change your attitude torwards them immediately. They working conditions are very difficult. Especially when they are crossing jurisdications/states.
When I am driving I have no problems eith truck drivers. They even help going onto the highway or mention radars.
The people sitting in the middle are the problem. Most of them doesn’t even accelerate passing another middle-lane-sitter.
Im driving for two decades. I did multiple years of disposition. I’m telling you: Middle sitters are the problem and responsible for most crashes on the autobahn.
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Yeah, that might be the case. I recently drove to Berchtesgaden and it was better in the south. I live near the Danish border. Haha, people here are a bit laid back.
Driving on occassion on the A8 near Stuttgart and can’t confirm it.
Usually trucks are clogging the most right line and overtaking each on the 2nd lane.
Most PKWs drive on the 2nd/3rd lane while the racers and overtakers use the 3rd/4th lane.
Also who cares about overtaking from the right. If you drive 120kph and my lane all drive 130 kph I will naturally overtake you. No need to switch lanes if the lane is free. Just don’t overtake at +30 kph but more at 10 kph in relation to base Autobahn speed.Pkw - Panzerkampfwagen?
PersonenKraftWagen
PersonalPowerVehicle
PersonalCar
CarIt’s a reference to this: https://reddit.com/r/de/s/rN0qIhSanO
I actually didn’t even know this existed prior to this comment, just saw the funny acronym (: thanks for that hilarious
Neat post
Thanks for the lore
I prefer tanki (;
Stupid Leopards keep clogging up the highways
Just don’t overtake at +30 kph but more at 10 kph
The law does account for this: If all lanes are well populated and you find your lane is actually moving faster than the lane to your left, you may pass - not overtake - on the right, as long as you are not more than 20 kph faster than the left lane.
The difference is in passing and overtaking: Passing is merely going faster than the other lane, but staying in your lane afterwards. Overtaking, or to give it its correct name of undertaking, is passing and then changing into the same lane as the passed vehicle.
Yeah, that’s what I meant.
Thanks for clarifying!
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I dont experience that in the part of Germany where I live but either way, have you seen how they drive in other countries? Thats wild compared to Germany…
Speaking as an American here… could we NOT park cars in the left lane. I’ve seen enough habits of drivers in other countries where the left lane is exclusively for passing, it’s so simple and superior for traffic but Americans be dumb selfish shits behind the wheel.
Left is for passing. You may not overtake in right lane. At least that’s how it works in Sweden. Thus if left lane is slow, right is slower.
I like this in concept. The issue is that we often get asshats who want to go slow in the left lane.
When my options are to go 5 under the speed limit, or pass on the right, I’m passing on the right every time.
You don’t understand, I have to turn left in 25 km and what if I can’t get back into my lane after I let you pass and I miss my turn. I’m not a confident driver so I am going to do what’s safest and best for me and everyone else can just accept it. I’m going fast enough at 5km over the posted speed limit and you can just slow down, life isn’t a race unless I need it to be.
-The asshole I encounter daily on my commute.
turn left WHERE. ON A HIGHWAY?? WAAAAAAAAAAAA
My highway has lights because the gov’t was too cheap for clovers in the 90s.
They meant the left turn at the very end of the hifhway /s
In the US, generally you cannot pass in the right lane except when the left lane refuses to move over despite having ample room
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Does this apply inside the city aswell? In Germany, this only applys outside the city…
In Sweden passing on the right is only permitted in two main scenarios.
Rate of speed lower than 70kph, or the lanes go to different destinations.
Where i live it’s fucking madness. People change lanes randomly, sit in the far left going 10 under the limit, pass on the right or left at seeming random, and sometimes just drive in the middle lane doing 30 mph in a 70 mph zone with their fucking hazards on. Don’t even get me started on their merge technique, jealousy and resentment are what rule people’s decisions and nobody has ever even heard of zipper merging. It’s a shock there aren’t more accidents than there are.
I once watched someone sitting in the far left at the limit, come up against someone driving on the left going 10 under, decide to undertake, and then slow down to like 30 under to “punish” the person.
I’ve changed lanes to pass only to have people change in front of me to block me, then change back when i changed back.
But most of all, and it should be noted i drive a two seater sports car here, i’ve had people in their huge ass SUVs look over at me, MAKE EYE CONTACT with me, and then merge into whatever lane i was in at the time like they were trying to drive me off the road.
Fuck!
I’ve actually been pulled over for being in the left lane too long in the US, so it does happen, but not enough.
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No, they let me go with a warning, but while the one was talking to me, the other cop was peering in all my windows, so I’m pretty sure it was all an excuse to inspect people cars…
It might be a density thing. I often notice that the left lane being full in dense city populations. Get a tad outside and it’s back to normal.
PARKING in the left lane? The hell? Isnt parking in any lane forbidden? Especially on a highway?
It’s a phrase some people use. Specifically prevalent in California. “Parking their Ass in the left lane” Means somebody driving in the left lane at 10mph below the speed limit.
I’ve been fined on German highways for going too fast. Memes like these are myths. It is based on fact that there is no default upper limit on highway. But there are speed-limit signs on German highways.
An Autobahn has per default no speed limit for cars, except when there is one indicated by a speed limit sign. But there are many parts on any Autobahn without speed limit signs, so in reality you can very often drive as fast as you want.
There are many opportunities to drive with 200km/h or more if you want, but often the traffic prevents going with this speed for longer than a few seconds or minutes.
About 1/3 of the Autobahn has speed limits. The other 2/3 dont have a speed limit
if there are speed limits i usually am forced to spend more time dicking around looking for signs or cops or checking the speedometer, instead of focusing on the road and how safe my current speed actually feels
If your mental capacity is reached by checking your surroundings while all the traffic is going roughly the same speed as you, then no way youre capable of handling “no speed limit” where everyone is driving to their liking.
It’s not just you who’d be suddenly free to do whatever they want, but everyone else too.
Claiming “I know better what’s best for me” is the best sign of someone who absolutely doesn’t.
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Fair, maybe that’s how it was meant. But “dicking around” makes me think otherwise.
I think traffic calming is really interesting for this reason, building roads to make you feel most comfortable at the correct speed. The road design here is usually good, but when driving I feel really anxious on roads that have a design not matching the speed limit too.
100% agreed. If I don’t set cruise control, I usually speed on my commute due to me just focusing on the grip of my car, distance to/from other cars, and perceived speed. It’s just hard to gauge speed without checking often on my speedometer, which isn’t as safe. Even just trying to follow at a constant distance in the right lane is difficult because the semi trucks usually end up having wide speed differences at random times, meaning 60mph-80mph depending on the hill usually.
This can be solved quite easily by introducing head-up-displays in cars showing the speed in front of the driver. HUDs were introduced years ago in some airliners allowing the pilots to maintain situational awareness while having quick access to the critical information about the aircraft. And introducing safety standards from commercial aviation is almost always a good step.
I’ve driven a car that kind of projected your speed onto the bottom of the wind shield. It’s really convenient, can recommend.
On the other side, Germany has TÜV with a mandatory vehicle inspection every 2 years with some exceptions for new cars.
They check vital components for road safety and won’t allow the car to be on public roads when it’s not fixed within a month. And it’s not like your tires have no rest profile anymore, it’s like you have to change them when they’re at 1,6mm… recommended is to change at 4mms…
Some “Prüfer” are chill but sometimes you won’t pass because your winter tires you were drivimg for 5 years, are 0,3% bigger than the allowed ones in the registrationpapers… at least I heard.
we have this every year in slovenia. you have to pass a technical inspection then register your car
my mom’s car failed bexause her handbrake was 11% less efficient than new (limit being 10%). she had to get it replaced and then the car passed perfectly with 0 issues stated
i’d rather do this shit than have some jerk driving around with a car thats about to fall apart and maybe not have a working brake
MOT every year in the UK, similar stuff
I know, but sorry we’re miles apart from each other. I’ve seen “street legal” cars in UK which will get you in jail in Germany xD Tbh I don’t mind those restrictions but some are way over the top here
Doesn’t Germany also enforce vehicle separation so people aren’t driving too close to each other on highways? That and passing on the left.
Yeees. But some of the guidelines are confusing. So the basic rule is that you have to keep a “2-second distance”. This is the distance you vehicle would travel in two second without breaking. The Formular is 2x(v²/100). But at lower speeds its a completely different calculation. And when you are waaay faster you are supposed to leave half your speed in metres as a gap. Then there are separate rules for fog and long vehicles and multiple vehicles that drive in a row on one lane roads and all that.
There are also rules for the distance you should keep to the cars and especially bikes next to you and they are different depending on if you are in a “place” or outside of one :)
That formular is wrong. The correct formular is (according to the official TÜV theory test questions):
2x(v/10)x3 (well technically they only calculate it for 1 second so I added the 2 infront).
That is, at the same time, slightly more than half your speed meters.
Your formula looks like the formular for the “Bremsweg” with a “2x” added infront but thats not how it works because time is not a variable there…
Wait no. So I’m Shure I got the Formular wrong, but there is one that is specifically for the distance covered per second. And of course time is a cariable because how else would you define speed.
Yeah, that formular “(v/10)x3” gives you the meters you travel in one second.
Your speedometer tells you how many km you travel per hour (km/h) and using that conversion you get the meters you travel per second (m/s).
Is that not a thing in most countries? Tailgating cant be legal in most countries, right?
Hey, we have strikt rules on a highway! For example if you’re driving slower than everybody else and your IQ is under 70 you are prohibited to drive on the right lane even if it’s empty.
Laughing in german…
Then, uh, get more?
Or just say: limit is 130 km/h and remove every sign saying 130 and higher. But that would all be too easy.
Was gonna say, before the Dutch did that stunt with time dependent speed limits the ‘unlimited’ sign just meant 130kph. At the border would be a sign explaining this and that’s that.
The FDP target group are above average people that enjoy fast expensive cars and that’s exactly what there politics are about. They are pretty much the only party pushing Porsches e-fuels in whole europe and keeping all incentives for the car lobby up and running.
That’s the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard.
Don’t go faster than the speed of light (optional).
German here. We do have speed limits on highways. The portions without are often not that long so you rarely get a chance to go truly wild.
Regardless, the highest I usually go is like 180kmh and that doesn’t happen very often.
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Okay yes of course. I live in the south west. my primary autobahn is the A1 and holy fuck it’s always just a cluster fuck of Baustellen
But you miss the point: BAB doesn’t mean BundesAutoBahn, it means Baustelle Am Baustelle.
The roadworks all over nowadays is due to years of neglect in the 80s and 90s.
True
Fun fact: Germany is about average when it comes to road safety in Europe, which is still impressing since we’ve got the highest traffic density.
Having no general speed limit needs to be a thing of the past. The speed difference between people who wanna drive economically and safely and those who want to put the pedal to the floor is just too big. It may have worked in the 50’s to the 80’s where fast cars were the exception, but nowadays virtuall every family sedan is capable of reaching 180 km/h or more. If you’re going a leisurely 100-120 and someone is doing a low level flight at at least double your speed, things get dangerous. Traffic density simply doesn’t allow that idiocy anymore.
Even if there is no speed limit, there is a guideline speed of 130 kmh and the right-hand driving rule. If the rules are adhered to, you only overtake in one of the left lanes (whereby you must first check whether the lane is free) and then back again. It is not a big problem if you are overtaken with a speed difference of 200 kmh. Of course, the speed must be selected according to the traffic situation, which means that you are only on the road at high speeds when the highway is clear.
With 180-200km/h delta you couldn’t possibly judge the traffic situation, let alone react in time. I think you meant 100km/h difference, right?
But even with a delta of “only” 100km/h the distance between cars shrinks by about 30m per seconds. Even with optimal visibility and full attention on the road this gives you a couple seconds at best to correctly assess the situation. Then you can only punch the brakes and hope you remain in controll over your vehicle.
Imho there is no justification to allow PKW move that fast. At those speeds you not only your life but that of others as well.
And i haven’t even touched on the environmental impact and fuel efficiency of high speeds.
I’ve learned that with a distance of 2 seconds you have always the right distance to the other car, independent with which speed. That is easier as to calculate the meters, enogh to look when the car in front passes some mark (post, tree, some sign…), count 21 …22. When you then pass this mark, you have a distance that allows you to stop safely.
It makes a difference if there is an unlimited section, I start to overtake someone with my weak base engine VW Golf and accelerate to 130 to complete my pass. And then a BMW/Audi/Mercedes approaches at 200+, flashing his high beams barely two car lengths behind me. I’m by no means an insecure driver, it just drives me mad. Some people think that just because an unlimited section of the Autobahn has started, everybody needs to move out of their way immediately or take part in a top speed chase with them. The sense of entitlement is strong out there.
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At which speed would I be allowed to use the left lane to overtake someone on the Autobahn, then? Somewhere north of 180? I’m assuming you have vast experience on the German highway system, so please do let me know.
When there is nobody driving that fast behind you in the left lane. I assume you look into your mirrors before switching lanes…? If so, whats the issue with people going faster occasionally on the left lane?
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Could be worse though
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
I want to know more about the top picture, anyone know the source?
There have been multiple cases tracking of lone wolves teaming up with bears for short periods to hunt.
Crazy, I would be interested in reading about that.
Origin
On February 12th, 2023, Redditor thereveldune4 posted an image to /r/blursedimages that showed a bear and a wolf staring at each other, using a Kubrick Stare POV of both. The top photo was captured by Peter A. Dettling. The post received more than 36,800 upvotes in five months (shown below).Spread The post gained iterations after viral reposts surfaced on Instagram months later. For instance, on June 15th, 2023, Instagram user @huge.poop uploaded the photo, receiving more than 45,000 likes in one month. Then, the image grew popular as an object labeling template. For example, on July 13th, 2023, TikTok user @suj7683 uploaded a photo slideshow of the image comparing requirements of Formula 1 in 2007 and 2023. The post received more than 1 million views in one week (shown below, left). On July 15th, 2023, TikTok[4] user @formula_1_freak uploaded a similar slideshow, comparing Formula 1 and Isle of Man TT. The post received more than 1.8 million views in five days (shown below, right).
After checking that out it’s not the original, that’s the origin of the template.
But now you know where you have to search.
Eh, I DEFINITELY don’t care about this enough to make a Reddit account, wait two weeks so I can send a private message, wait an indeterminate amount of time for the guy who posted it to find my message and MAYBE reply (assuming his account isn’t banned, which is unlikely since this is Reddit), or post hundreds of spam comments to get enough karma to meet whatever that sub calls their karma requirements. If no one has the source I guess I’ll just never know.
The original image of a bear and wolf facing off against each other comes from an image originally taken and published by Canadian wildlife photographer Peter Dettling. Dettling even managed to capture the bear and wolf looking around as if to check if anyone had seen them lock eyes. Same source…
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Biggest laugh I had in a long time I am crying omg
You’re welcome.
optional
😆
Yes omg that killed me
