You have very accurately expanded on what we experienced in Germany. I
was in the Engineers/Army 40 years ago, and had a little VW. The first
time on the Autobahn was a real wake up call with the BMW on my bumper,
with me a max speed of 62 mph/100 kph and the BMW a whole lot faster. I
became a quick study.
Too bad we can't be this good in the US, because our roads are really
better, and now the cell phones just add to the problem. Getting a
drivers license in Germany is serious business, as are the cars, who do
use their performance on a Normal basis there.
It was really neat to drive, in my case in the far right lane, and see
those cars fly by, as they passed traffic. You have to see it to fully
enjoy it, and again this a public road.
Larry
rgibbs@pacbell.net wrote:
>
> Larry Paulick wrote:
> >
> > Hi Group. We just got in last night from a week in Germany, and a week
> > in England. Thought I would pass on some car related stuff to the group.
> >
> snip
>
> Larry,
>
> Some of my recollections from driving in Europe are very similiar. In
> Germany and Austria the driving style looked to me to be very precise.
> A big difference that I noted was the higher level of communication
> between drivers. Using headlights and turn signals allows good safe
> flow. Maybe it is because this becomes critically important at the
> speeds on the Autobahn. I quickly learned to carefully (!) check side
> view mirrors before passing a car. A few experiences of overtaking a
> slow moving truck (I was approaching at maybe 70 mph, the truck maybe
> 50mph) and having a vehicle show up on my bumper like RIGHT NOW is very
> good at teaching these things. Going 70 - 75 mph and having a Mercedes
> or Porsche approaching at 130mph is good at getting my attention!
>
> I noted drivers use much more of the full capabilities of the vehicle.
> More full throttle acceleration and much harder braking than is my
> experience in the US. I could see why the market there develops high
> performance capability much more than in the US market.
>
> There was a beer fest in Austria in October, as I walked to my hotel
> room I passed by a road check. Policemen were running a sobriety check
> as cars left the festivities. They take their driving seriously.
>
> Upon my return to the US, I drove to work on our wonderful, wide
> freeways crawling at aout 60 mph. The stark difference was amazing.
> Drivers matching speeds across all four lanes. The idea of slower
> traffic moves to the right is lost here. One hand on the sterring wheel
> while fiddling with the radio, makeup, drinking coffee or daydreaming
> was the norm. What a difference.
>
> Thanks for sharing Larry.
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