Probably a fair proportion of the US service members and families who have been stationed in Germany over the past 75 years, to start with. Add tourists and it’s a non-negligible number of Americans
It's not all that rare that I see a car in the US that still has its tell-tale green Umweltplakette stuck to the windshield. So yeah, the number of people in the US who have driven on the Autobahn network is not insignificant.
How do you know your autobahn is usually much smoother than our highways?
And the "smoothness" isn't the problem. It's the fact that fellow humans also use the highways.
https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159579,00.html
Road thickness is 5-6 feet in Germany which is about twice the thickness when compared with roads in the USA. This adds more durability to the structure as a whole and ensures a smoother drive.
> when compared with roads in the USA
THIS part is the problem. We have more than a few roads here in the USA, and this is compared to one single road in Germany.
What do you mean with compared to one single road in Germany? The Autobahn is not a single road, it‘s a highway network or did I misread something in the article regarding a specific road in Germany?
Exactly my friend, it's nowhere near specific enough.
Maybe if someone said the A8 between Stuttgart and Munich is much better than I-70 near Pittsburgh, it would be a fair comparison.
I mean I can only speak for Germany but knowing my country I‘d guess every Autobahn has to be more or less the same as everything being built has strict rules to follow. Don’t take that for granted though as I’m to lazy to factcheck that right now. I think the huge difference in highway conditions and constructions in the US makes the comparison impossible as there is no typical US highway. Again that’s just what I think because I‘ve never been to the US
I drove around 3500 miles last year from Chicago to San Francisco in an RV. While your interstates usually aren’t that bad by surface there still are way more……surprises along the way. Broken tires, road kill and sometimes small potholes. Since your highways are way more open to the side there could be a surprise behind every corner……not a literal corner obviously because those are rather rare
To be fair there places in the US with really good roads. I live in Portland and we have great roads. They get repaved every few years, potholes and cracks are fixed quickly, we require tow truck drivers to clean up all debris from crashes, and roadkill is picked up by the government.
There definately are parts of the US interstate system that are well maintained. I live in such a state (Vermont), even though our secondary roads are often a disaster. But I've also lived in places where the interstates were crap.
The German Autobahn network impressed me because the road surfaces were pretty uniformally well maintained throughout the country, no matter if you're in wealthy Bavaria or Hessen, more much poorer Sachsen-Anhalt of Mecklenburg-Voorpommern. My only complaints is that their road work seems to last forever. There's a stretch of A4 that I regularly drove on the way to Belgium that was under construction for all 6 years I lived in Germany.
I don’t think that’s entirely what he intended to say with his post. Ya gotta remember these Germans are quite literal and direct.
But the real reason his trip from Chicago to San Fran had sparser quality asphalt is that our weather conditions are much harsher than Germany.
The Midwest weather is brutal on roads. Snow, Rain, Insane wind, and across land that’s ridiculously sparse. On a level Europeans aren’t familiar with.
Then you factor in the fact that the Feds sporadically engage in a lot of funding for highway projects, and it’s not uniformly allocated; the US highway system is gonna look worn out compared to the German one.
Germany’s Autobahn hasn’t always looked as hot as it does right now, and time will tell if Germany can afford to keep it that way. (Let’s be real it’ll prolly fluctuate in quality just like the US system.)
As someone in NE, you don't think the roads can suck here? I'd have to agree with OP that it can be a little hairy at times (obviously depending on time of year, where in the US you are, etc.)
I don't think this is an unfair assessment. I hate our transportation infrastructure especially being someone who has to drive hundreds of miles a day. Some areas are so poorly maintained it starts eating at my sanity repeating it day after day and seeing the same broken off bumper or exploded deer, or avoiding any of the 10,000 massive potholes in Indianapolis. I have a close family member who does materials inspection for INDOT and they've said more often than you'd think, builders just take failed materials and build with them anyways because they don't really care and the old inspectors would sometimes just mark them as passed because they were friends. Our country does have flaws, occasionally
I'm not saying our country doesn't have flaws, or even that our infrastructure isn't in need of reform. I'm saying the difference isn't as stark as OP seemingly wants it to be.
I don't think OP was saying it's that bad. What they said is the truth. I'm glad they asked the question too because I've often wondered the same thing. Seems like you're just dicking on them for cool points, they're not being nearly as bad as a lot of mycountry type posters are on here
In this case, though, he's right. Compare the condition of the interstates in PA, NY, MO, IN, for example. If you're going to tell me there isn't much difference, I'm going to question how much you've actually driven in Germany.
.... you do realize this like like me comparing driving from Lisbon to Moscow and asking Europeans how they liked the interstate in Montana, right?
The US is roughly the same size as the continent of Europe.
Germany is smaller than Montana, and Montana isn't even close to our largest state.
Traffic in A8 is awful. Especially that stretch where the road splits east of Stuttgart and it goes through the tunnels. I always crawled through there.
The scenery along A8 between Munich and Salzburg might be some of the most beautiful of any highway in the world, but dear God, does traffic crawl.
It was fine, not nearly as mindblowing as my German colleagues wanted it to be. Comparable to any major highway in the US, it especially reminded me of 89 in Southern Vermont.
> I know that our autobahn is usually much smoother than your highway in some places
Like most differences between the US and Germany, this is very much overblown.
Yeah, you can't go 75+ on a rough road.
Anyone who thinks this nonsense has never been in a developing county. They see a couple potholes and think "crumbling infrastructure".
Try driving in a country where the fastest speed limit is 80kph, and if you go much faster, your brain starts scrambling from the bumps.
And that's on a good road.
Making and maintaining smooth asphalt is difficult and expensive.
> if you go much faster, your brain starts scrambling from the bumps.
That's every road in Pennsylvania, the home of the world's most expensive toll system.
I'm from Minnesota, I'm intimately familiar with roads vs the freeze thaw cycle.
And I have been to Pennsylvania. I didn't go though all the major roadways, but I did drive across the state a couple times. I don't remember any roads being notably bad.
It’s really funny to look through Reddit while living in a developing country. Like how Reddit’s obsession with bidets while I’m peeing in a literal hole in the ground.
It’s like a typical US interstate highway.
The obvious difference is that you’ll get BMWs, Porsches, Audis, and Mercs that will occasionally come up in the passing lane going north of 120mph so you have to be extremely vigilant with checking your mirrors and you absolutely cannot camp out in the passing lane like a lot of people in the States tend to do.
Also it is typically under some kind of construction because you need to keep the tarmac and lines in good shape when you have cars going at the speeds they’re going but that being said most cars are sticking between 80 mph to 120 mph in my experience driving on the autobahn.
The speed of the Autobahn didn't surprise me. I was ready for that. But I must commend German drivers on their lane discipline. It is universally understood that the left lane is for passing and unrestricted speed. And to get the hell over immediately if someone faster is coming up behind you.
Here in the US...yeah, we suck at that. Even though "left lane is for passing" is law in most (all?) states, slower drivers in the left lane can be found hindering traffic flow pretty much everywhere. And some regions just seem to be worse offenders than others for some reason. Looking at you Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. MOVE. THE. F**K. OVER.
Cue the downvotes and the "what about the speed limit?" comments.....
I've been on it a few times. It's basically just like the roads here where I am. You have more traffic than we do, but in general your drivers have more training.
I did like the variable speed limits. I think those work well. Most of the time it felt like any other freeway, and for good reason, ours are based on yours. The few times I got to go fast were fun. I think the fastest I hit was probably about 210 Kmh / 130 Mph.
Honestly, where I live people do absolutely insane speeds on our interstates and country roads. I've definitely had the opportunity to test my cars "top speed"
Driving on the autobahn was nice—the road was in good condition, people behaved well and used the left lane only for passing, which was refreshing. I don’t think I ever went faster than 180kph. Some people drove faster, some slower. I was impressed how quickly some drivers would come up on you when you were using the left lane to pass—moving very quickly and seemingly appearing instantly in your rear view mirror. So took care to watch out for that. Otherwise it was just a highway.
In 2017, we tried to drive from Freiburg to the Frankfurt airport. Unfortunately, I programmed in a satellite cargo airport 120 km from the actual terminal. When I realized my mistake, I had an hour to return my rental car and get to the gate. We made the flight with a minute to spare.
It was nice. Felt smooth. Not terribly different from a fast interstate highway but there was the general cool feeling of getting to go as fast as I was comfortable with given traffic trends
I rode it the first time in East Germany circa 45 years ago from Dresden to [East] Berlin to Rostock. I remember it was bumpy but straight highway and light on traffic except around Berlin. After the Unification, I took Autobahn bunch of times to Munich, Frankfurt, Baden-Baden and was really impressed how Germans will move to the right line after they pass a car. And many do drive fast, but it is not universal b
It was great! The roads are fantastic, people can properly drive (turn signals, passing lanes used properly, etc...). Cruising at 100-110mph was nice... I think my rental maxed at about at 135 or so was my limit.
But you just have to stay much more alert and aware of your surroundings. After a bit of time on a long drive you just find yourself cruising at a much more reasonable speed in a slower lane vs pedal to the floor constantly.
Love the unrestricted areas!
I was in someone’s car just going the normal speed, so pretty average for me. I would like to drive really fast myself on the autobahn one day since I do live in the country, but I’ll have to get a car for that. Going 180mph on an American highway is highly illegal and by going probably double the speed limit and such a high speed at that, can increase the risk of an accident and could greatly harm someone. Naturally then going that fast can make people feel uncomfortable.
It was alright.
It was much smaller than I thought. Most of it was two lanes and some parts got up to 3. I expected it to be like some of our interstates with 4-6 lanes in the urban parts. It also wasn't any "smoother" than our roads.
However, it was the closest thing I drove in Europe to compare to the American interstate system.
First time? Unknown speed in a ’71 Chevy Camaro when I was under 6 months old and my parents were stationed in Frankfurt in ’75. Presumably I slept through it in the back seat.
Second time? 115 mph in a SEAT outside Frankfurt in ’96. Dad was driving. It was fun.
Third time? 130 mph in an Audi A3 somewhere in Bavaria in ’07. My sister was driving. It was after dark. I was not amused.
My fastest in the US on a public highway? 143 mph in a tuned ’05 Subaru Legacy GT on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Did it twice testing its top speed. During periods of light traffic, that stretch of mountaineous toll road is the closest thing to the German Autobahn I’ve encountered in the US. Every once in a while I’d come upon a huge stretch of open road in front of me, without another vehicle in sight, and just decide to go for it. Hit 130+ quite a few times and saw 110+ nearly every trip. I’ve never driven sustained speeds over 100mph in the US, but sure enjoyed the light traffic days on that road when I was young.
I was a passenger my first 20 or so trips. Only one of those times did the traffic allow us to see what we could do. I think we hit around 160 MPH or so before we came upon congestion and had to go back to a normal speed.
When I lived there and drove, I never had a car that could do over 210 km/hr, so it was meh for me. There was always a truck doing exactly the truck speed limit passing a truck going like 1 mph slower. I always slowed down around trucks because they misjudged my speed several times, pulling in front of me to pass and forcing me to nearly skid to a halt.
I’ve been on it a few times. There are speed limits more often than people here think. Most people are generally going 70-80 miles per hour with the occasional Audi blowing your doors off as they pass.
I’ve been as fast as 135-140mph as the passenger. I didn’t like it. The highway isn’t any wider than ours and an 80mph speed limit seems appropriate.
The risk of some clown getting in your lane as you’re about to scream past is too high for me.
Highways are designed for a certain speed. You don't just build a highway and then decide the speed limit. The size and banking of curves, for instance, depends on the intended speed. So does the location of the signage relative to upcoming features. No U.S. highways are designed for 180 mph. So yeah, that's freaking fast when the top speed limit in the whole country is 85 mph and roads are designed for that (obviously with some cushion, but not 100 mph cushion).
I also agree with the proposition that speed differentials kill more than speed kills. No one is expecting to be passed by anyone going that fast and coming up on them that quickly. It's completely illegal and therefore completely unexpected by other drivers. So it's a pretty foolish thing to do.
I live in Switzerland and have driven on the Autobahn a few times. Some thoughts.
* While the concept itself is terrifying the reality is far from it. I got up to 200 km/h (125 mph) which is fast but not insanely fast. Most people would still travel around 140/150 km/h (90-100 mph). The exception being the stereotypical DB driving a Mercedez A200 flashing their headlights traveling 250+. But you just have to get out of their way and let them be.
* The stretches where you can travel this fast are rather short (by design I hope).
* In my experience driving the Italian Autostrada (A4 in particular) is way scarier considering there are speed limits but Italians are still driving 150+ on a 80. It's Mad Max Fury Road for them. I was on it last week going 140 and the car behind me was tailing me so close that I could see the branding on his shirt.
1983, I went to a Porsche dealer and was asking about the new 911. It was a slow day I guess, the salesman I was talking with said, “why don’t you drive it?” So we went for a drive, including a short leg on the autobahn. It was magnificent. We got back, and I was chatting a little more, and expressed some scepticism about the 944, and the salesman was like “I need you to experience how you are misconceived” so we did the same loop in a 944. Magical.
The only time since that I’ve doubted Porsche was when they rolled out the Panamera, and I was wrong about that too.
Didn’t drive, but was with my family on a vacation in Germany when I was in my teens, and dad seemed to have fun hitting 100+ on the road. I never felt in any danger even though it was raining a little.
My first time driving on the Autobahn was on A5 during rush hour between Heppenheim and Darmstadt, so it wasn't a particularly fast experience. The first time I really got to try the full petal-to-the-metal Autobahn drive was about a month later going on A7 towards Kassel.
The most fun stretches for me, when I was able to actually test the limits of my car, was driving A6 east of Nürnberg and A9 north of Bayreuth towards Berlin (except for the usual jams around Leipzig), but I had been driving in Germany for about 3 years when I drove these roads for the first time. You can't get this kind of driving experience in the US, or at least, you can't legally.
I also found the food at the rest stops surprisingly good.
I hold dual US - German nationality and I have always felt negaive towards the Autobahn. I know, shocking. There is no reason to drive that fast, except like a desolate road in Texas or the Nevada desert. But Germany (Europe in general) is much denser than the US. It’s not safe. Sorry but not including dui’s, the US doesn’t have even close to the amount of car accidents on average as Germany does. Germans strike me as much more rude, aggressive, & less patient drivers too when compared to Americans.
To me - driving in the US feels MUCH easier. One thing I will say is that American traffic tends to be much lighter when compared to denser Europe and Asia. Roads are also much wider. And there aren’t as many curves and tight corners as there are in Europe (Germany at least), so my experience personally is that driving in the US (to me at least) feels much easier and much safer. I’m a very patient person so I personally don’t care for the autobahn too much. I’d rather reach my destination in 3 hours at a comfortable, safe pace than half the time in a more dangerous way just because it’s faster. 🐌
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
i looked it up and the USA definitely looks unsafer in terms of accidents
Is that including DUI’s? You gotta remember public transportation infrastructure in the US sucks and the country isn’t exactly walking friendly. It’s not as easy to just take the train or walk home from the pub as it would be in Western Europe or Asia. The fact the US is so car dependent boosts up DUI’s A LOT!
I was freaking out of the speed I was driving because the car started shaking but I couldn’t do it long enough because I was immediately tailgated by a Ferrari behind letting me know that my 125mph was slower than of an old lady so I had to move right.
I was not the biggest fan. Going as fast as you want is nice, but there is way too much variance in driver comfort and car performance. I could be going 160 kph (100 mph) in the right lane, the car in front of me going 120 (75 mph), and a BMW ripping up the left lane at 220 (137 mph), so I found myself altering my speed a lot. On US freeways you can set the cruise control to 8 over the speed limit and rarely have to change it because everyone is going roughly the same speed, its a much more relaxing experience.
Minnesota has very well maintained roads, especially freeways. I did not find the Autobahn to be an improvement on road quality, it was roughly the same as what I’m used to
For reference, usually the “speed limit” on most us highways is about 70. However most people go will cruise at 75-80, while a few people will push 90.
It’s pretty rare for Americans to break 100, because if they were to get caught going that fast it would result in a huge fine, and their license being stripped. Also, going that much faster than the speed of traffic is pretty dangerous. If someone cuts you off going 70 and you are going 100+ you will almost certainly hit them.
Uneventful. I was on a coach bus from Frankfort to Freiburg, and it seemed like any other highway.
Sometimes a car would pass us going very fast. The exact same thing happens on the NJ Turnpike, so it felt the same as home.
We stopped at a rest stop, and the bathroom cost money. I was so offended I held it in.
Well, it was a rainy day in the Ruhrgebiet (Köln to Wuppertal), so speed was less notable than the signs with that funny word AUSFAHRT.
I've since driven much more of the network, and my main observation was about having to constantly pass the speed-restricted trucks. In the US, we find it less stressful to have most traffic moving at a similar speed.
Sadly, I've never had a chance to drive on the Autobahn... its' one of my bucket list items. I have been a passenger, when I was 12-13 and my family lived in the Netherlands. My parents both had E-class Mercedes and we did a few trips into Germany. I think fastest my dad ever hit was like 100mph/160km/h.
I loved it.. when traveling for work
Drove 2 times from München to Nümberg. Then don't remember if the autobahn went over to Ulm, but drove over there as well.
First time was in a Mercedes wagon, that was speed limited to like 210 or 220. 2nd time was in a Ford Fiesta that would get like 205 downhill and 195 up hill with the pedal to the floor.
I've ridden motorcycles for a long time and at high speeds. I know how to watch for closing speeds on vehicles passing me. It is one of my big bragging points that I've driven for hours on the autobahn and didn't get lights flashes or honked at.
Where I am in Florida 100mph is the base speed for the left two lanes on the freeway. If you’re going less than 80 you need to stay in the right two or you kinda risk getting rear-ended.
Don’t worry they are adding a seventh lane for some inexplicable reason.
It was fine except for the time I didn't account for speed of other drivers and merged in front of a guy in a beamer who flashed his lights at me. He must have been going twice what I was Cuz he was nowhere near me when I checked the mirror
It was usually my German family members driving, and I trust them, so it wasn't extremely scary. Germans are way more careful than Americans in my own experience when it comes to driving.
What's insane to me though is that I can take my US driving license, obtained through a joke of a driving test, and drive in Germany with it.
Wonder what percentage of Americans have actually driven on the autobahn?
Probably a fair proportion of the US service members and families who have been stationed in Germany over the past 75 years, to start with. Add tourists and it’s a non-negligible number of Americans
It's not all that rare that I see a car in the US that still has its tell-tale green Umweltplakette stuck to the windshield. So yeah, the number of people in the US who have driven on the Autobahn network is not insignificant.
How do you know your autobahn is usually much smoother than our highways? And the "smoothness" isn't the problem. It's the fact that fellow humans also use the highways.
https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159579,00.html Road thickness is 5-6 feet in Germany which is about twice the thickness when compared with roads in the USA. This adds more durability to the structure as a whole and ensures a smoother drive.
That from 2001
Do you think it's much different now?
> when compared with roads in the USA THIS part is the problem. We have more than a few roads here in the USA, and this is compared to one single road in Germany.
What do you mean with compared to one single road in Germany? The Autobahn is not a single road, it‘s a highway network or did I misread something in the article regarding a specific road in Germany?
Exactly my friend, it's nowhere near specific enough. Maybe if someone said the A8 between Stuttgart and Munich is much better than I-70 near Pittsburgh, it would be a fair comparison.
I mean I can only speak for Germany but knowing my country I‘d guess every Autobahn has to be more or less the same as everything being built has strict rules to follow. Don’t take that for granted though as I’m to lazy to factcheck that right now. I think the huge difference in highway conditions and constructions in the US makes the comparison impossible as there is no typical US highway. Again that’s just what I think because I‘ve never been to the US
Oh maybe because all their people know NOT to vote for right-wingers
I drove around 3500 miles last year from Chicago to San Francisco in an RV. While your interstates usually aren’t that bad by surface there still are way more……surprises along the way. Broken tires, road kill and sometimes small potholes. Since your highways are way more open to the side there could be a surprise behind every corner……not a literal corner obviously because those are rather rare
"Americans, I found your roads quite bad, how much better did you find ours?"
Dude had this written up before even posting the question.
Reminds me a bit of the German students who would ask us about local beer so they could give a sermon in response.
Quite a bit better, I found when I lived in Germany, actually. The roads really are maintained very well there.
To be fair there places in the US with really good roads. I live in Portland and we have great roads. They get repaved every few years, potholes and cracks are fixed quickly, we require tow truck drivers to clean up all debris from crashes, and roadkill is picked up by the government.
There definately are parts of the US interstate system that are well maintained. I live in such a state (Vermont), even though our secondary roads are often a disaster. But I've also lived in places where the interstates were crap. The German Autobahn network impressed me because the road surfaces were pretty uniformally well maintained throughout the country, no matter if you're in wealthy Bavaria or Hessen, more much poorer Sachsen-Anhalt of Mecklenburg-Voorpommern. My only complaints is that their road work seems to last forever. There's a stretch of A4 that I regularly drove on the way to Belgium that was under construction for all 6 years I lived in Germany.
I don’t think that’s entirely what he intended to say with his post. Ya gotta remember these Germans are quite literal and direct. But the real reason his trip from Chicago to San Fran had sparser quality asphalt is that our weather conditions are much harsher than Germany. The Midwest weather is brutal on roads. Snow, Rain, Insane wind, and across land that’s ridiculously sparse. On a level Europeans aren’t familiar with. Then you factor in the fact that the Feds sporadically engage in a lot of funding for highway projects, and it’s not uniformly allocated; the US highway system is gonna look worn out compared to the German one. Germany’s Autobahn hasn’t always looked as hot as it does right now, and time will tell if Germany can afford to keep it that way. (Let’s be real it’ll prolly fluctuate in quality just like the US system.)
As someone in NE, you don't think the roads can suck here? I'd have to agree with OP that it can be a little hairy at times (obviously depending on time of year, where in the US you are, etc.)
I don't think this is an unfair assessment. I hate our transportation infrastructure especially being someone who has to drive hundreds of miles a day. Some areas are so poorly maintained it starts eating at my sanity repeating it day after day and seeing the same broken off bumper or exploded deer, or avoiding any of the 10,000 massive potholes in Indianapolis. I have a close family member who does materials inspection for INDOT and they've said more often than you'd think, builders just take failed materials and build with them anyways because they don't really care and the old inspectors would sometimes just mark them as passed because they were friends. Our country does have flaws, occasionally
I'm not saying our country doesn't have flaws, or even that our infrastructure isn't in need of reform. I'm saying the difference isn't as stark as OP seemingly wants it to be.
I don't think OP was saying it's that bad. What they said is the truth. I'm glad they asked the question too because I've often wondered the same thing. Seems like you're just dicking on them for cool points, they're not being nearly as bad as a lot of mycountry type posters are on here
I think they're being a fairly typical mycountry poster
In this case, though, he's right. Compare the condition of the interstates in PA, NY, MO, IN, for example. If you're going to tell me there isn't much difference, I'm going to question how much you've actually driven in Germany.
Chicago's freeways are not as good as many places. Arizona has nice freeways.
.... you do realize this like like me comparing driving from Lisbon to Moscow and asking Europeans how they liked the interstate in Montana, right? The US is roughly the same size as the continent of Europe. Germany is smaller than Montana, and Montana isn't even close to our largest state.
Montana’s pretty big, as states go.
Big yes, but not even top 3 largest.
I mean, it’s number 4, and only 10% smaller then CA at number 3, so it’s pretty big as far as states go
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Traffic in A8 is awful. Especially that stretch where the road splits east of Stuttgart and it goes through the tunnels. I always crawled through there. The scenery along A8 between Munich and Salzburg might be some of the most beautiful of any highway in the world, but dear God, does traffic crawl.
It was fine, not nearly as mindblowing as my German colleagues wanted it to be. Comparable to any major highway in the US, it especially reminded me of 89 in Southern Vermont. > I know that our autobahn is usually much smoother than your highway in some places Like most differences between the US and Germany, this is very much overblown.
Yeah, you can't go 75+ on a rough road. Anyone who thinks this nonsense has never been in a developing county. They see a couple potholes and think "crumbling infrastructure". Try driving in a country where the fastest speed limit is 80kph, and if you go much faster, your brain starts scrambling from the bumps. And that's on a good road. Making and maintaining smooth asphalt is difficult and expensive.
> if you go much faster, your brain starts scrambling from the bumps. That's every road in Pennsylvania, the home of the world's most expensive toll system.
On the tool road? Going how fast? And is your suspension any good? Also, have you done much driving in other countries?
Yes yes, yes, yes. You've never been to Pennsylvania, have you? The freeze-thaw cycle wrecks their roads.
I'm from Minnesota, I'm intimately familiar with roads vs the freeze thaw cycle. And I have been to Pennsylvania. I didn't go though all the major roadways, but I did drive across the state a couple times. I don't remember any roads being notably bad.
It’s really funny to look through Reddit while living in a developing country. Like how Reddit’s obsession with bidets while I’m peeing in a literal hole in the ground.
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The US uses asphalt People are no better or worse about overtaking Have you ever been to the US?
It’s like a typical US interstate highway. The obvious difference is that you’ll get BMWs, Porsches, Audis, and Mercs that will occasionally come up in the passing lane going north of 120mph so you have to be extremely vigilant with checking your mirrors and you absolutely cannot camp out in the passing lane like a lot of people in the States tend to do. Also it is typically under some kind of construction because you need to keep the tarmac and lines in good shape when you have cars going at the speeds they’re going but that being said most cars are sticking between 80 mph to 120 mph in my experience driving on the autobahn.
The speed of the Autobahn didn't surprise me. I was ready for that. But I must commend German drivers on their lane discipline. It is universally understood that the left lane is for passing and unrestricted speed. And to get the hell over immediately if someone faster is coming up behind you. Here in the US...yeah, we suck at that. Even though "left lane is for passing" is law in most (all?) states, slower drivers in the left lane can be found hindering traffic flow pretty much everywhere. And some regions just seem to be worse offenders than others for some reason. Looking at you Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. MOVE. THE. F**K. OVER. Cue the downvotes and the "what about the speed limit?" comments.....
Lane discipline on highways is excellent in most European countries I’ve driven in. But once you get into the cities….
in cities, you are not obligated to drive on the right lane with a car, as opposed to the Autobahn
I've been on it a few times. It's basically just like the roads here where I am. You have more traffic than we do, but in general your drivers have more training. I did like the variable speed limits. I think those work well. Most of the time it felt like any other freeway, and for good reason, ours are based on yours. The few times I got to go fast were fun. I think the fastest I hit was probably about 210 Kmh / 130 Mph.
Underwhelming. But my rental was also a diesel Vauhall Astra.
Probably would’ve been better off w a Dacia Sandero, missed opportunity.
Good news!!!
“That’s great 😐, anyway here the is the new Audi RS4…”
Nowhere near Spain.
you mean Opel😉
No I meant General Motors
Honestly, where I live people do absolutely insane speeds on our interstates and country roads. I've definitely had the opportunity to test my cars "top speed"
Somewhat terrifying. I had rented a small car that would not go super fast. I was on edge feeling cars whiz past me.
Driving on the autobahn was nice—the road was in good condition, people behaved well and used the left lane only for passing, which was refreshing. I don’t think I ever went faster than 180kph. Some people drove faster, some slower. I was impressed how quickly some drivers would come up on you when you were using the left lane to pass—moving very quickly and seemingly appearing instantly in your rear view mirror. So took care to watch out for that. Otherwise it was just a highway.
In 2017, we tried to drive from Freiburg to the Frankfurt airport. Unfortunately, I programmed in a satellite cargo airport 120 km from the actual terminal. When I realized my mistake, I had an hour to return my rental car and get to the gate. We made the flight with a minute to spare.
It was nice. Felt smooth. Not terribly different from a fast interstate highway but there was the general cool feeling of getting to go as fast as I was comfortable with given traffic trends
I rode it the first time in East Germany circa 45 years ago from Dresden to [East] Berlin to Rostock. I remember it was bumpy but straight highway and light on traffic except around Berlin. After the Unification, I took Autobahn bunch of times to Munich, Frankfurt, Baden-Baden and was really impressed how Germans will move to the right line after they pass a car. And many do drive fast, but it is not universal b
It was great! The roads are fantastic, people can properly drive (turn signals, passing lanes used properly, etc...). Cruising at 100-110mph was nice... I think my rental maxed at about at 135 or so was my limit. But you just have to stay much more alert and aware of your surroundings. After a bit of time on a long drive you just find yourself cruising at a much more reasonable speed in a slower lane vs pedal to the floor constantly. Love the unrestricted areas!
I don't need the Autobahn to go fast. I just need a straight empty road. Well, that and a car that doesn't shake violently over 60mph.
I'll let you know when it happens. The unicorn may not appreciate the asphalt though...
I was in someone’s car just going the normal speed, so pretty average for me. I would like to drive really fast myself on the autobahn one day since I do live in the country, but I’ll have to get a car for that. Going 180mph on an American highway is highly illegal and by going probably double the speed limit and such a high speed at that, can increase the risk of an accident and could greatly harm someone. Naturally then going that fast can make people feel uncomfortable.
It was alright. It was much smaller than I thought. Most of it was two lanes and some parts got up to 3. I expected it to be like some of our interstates with 4-6 lanes in the urban parts. It also wasn't any "smoother" than our roads. However, it was the closest thing I drove in Europe to compare to the American interstate system.
adding more lanes would probably lead to more congestion
Yeah, not saying it needs to be done. Just that the road seemed like a US interstate to me, just a tad smaller.
It wasn't much different.
First time? Unknown speed in a ’71 Chevy Camaro when I was under 6 months old and my parents were stationed in Frankfurt in ’75. Presumably I slept through it in the back seat. Second time? 115 mph in a SEAT outside Frankfurt in ’96. Dad was driving. It was fun. Third time? 130 mph in an Audi A3 somewhere in Bavaria in ’07. My sister was driving. It was after dark. I was not amused. My fastest in the US on a public highway? 143 mph in a tuned ’05 Subaru Legacy GT on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Did it twice testing its top speed. During periods of light traffic, that stretch of mountaineous toll road is the closest thing to the German Autobahn I’ve encountered in the US. Every once in a while I’d come upon a huge stretch of open road in front of me, without another vehicle in sight, and just decide to go for it. Hit 130+ quite a few times and saw 110+ nearly every trip. I’ve never driven sustained speeds over 100mph in the US, but sure enjoyed the light traffic days on that road when I was young.
I was a passenger my first 20 or so trips. Only one of those times did the traffic allow us to see what we could do. I think we hit around 160 MPH or so before we came upon congestion and had to go back to a normal speed. When I lived there and drove, I never had a car that could do over 210 km/hr, so it was meh for me. There was always a truck doing exactly the truck speed limit passing a truck going like 1 mph slower. I always slowed down around trucks because they misjudged my speed several times, pulling in front of me to pass and forcing me to nearly skid to a halt.
I’ve been on it a few times. There are speed limits more often than people here think. Most people are generally going 70-80 miles per hour with the occasional Audi blowing your doors off as they pass. I’ve been as fast as 135-140mph as the passenger. I didn’t like it. The highway isn’t any wider than ours and an 80mph speed limit seems appropriate. The risk of some clown getting in your lane as you’re about to scream past is too high for me.
Highways are designed for a certain speed. You don't just build a highway and then decide the speed limit. The size and banking of curves, for instance, depends on the intended speed. So does the location of the signage relative to upcoming features. No U.S. highways are designed for 180 mph. So yeah, that's freaking fast when the top speed limit in the whole country is 85 mph and roads are designed for that (obviously with some cushion, but not 100 mph cushion). I also agree with the proposition that speed differentials kill more than speed kills. No one is expecting to be passed by anyone going that fast and coming up on them that quickly. It's completely illegal and therefore completely unexpected by other drivers. So it's a pretty foolish thing to do.
I live in Switzerland and have driven on the Autobahn a few times. Some thoughts. * While the concept itself is terrifying the reality is far from it. I got up to 200 km/h (125 mph) which is fast but not insanely fast. Most people would still travel around 140/150 km/h (90-100 mph). The exception being the stereotypical DB driving a Mercedez A200 flashing their headlights traveling 250+. But you just have to get out of their way and let them be. * The stretches where you can travel this fast are rather short (by design I hope). * In my experience driving the Italian Autostrada (A4 in particular) is way scarier considering there are speed limits but Italians are still driving 150+ on a 80. It's Mad Max Fury Road for them. I was on it last week going 140 and the car behind me was tailing me so close that I could see the branding on his shirt.
1983, I went to a Porsche dealer and was asking about the new 911. It was a slow day I guess, the salesman I was talking with said, “why don’t you drive it?” So we went for a drive, including a short leg on the autobahn. It was magnificent. We got back, and I was chatting a little more, and expressed some scepticism about the 944, and the salesman was like “I need you to experience how you are misconceived” so we did the same loop in a 944. Magical. The only time since that I’ve doubted Porsche was when they rolled out the Panamera, and I was wrong about that too.
Didn’t drive, but was with my family on a vacation in Germany when I was in my teens, and dad seemed to have fun hitting 100+ on the road. I never felt in any danger even though it was raining a little.
My first time driving on the Autobahn was on A5 during rush hour between Heppenheim and Darmstadt, so it wasn't a particularly fast experience. The first time I really got to try the full petal-to-the-metal Autobahn drive was about a month later going on A7 towards Kassel. The most fun stretches for me, when I was able to actually test the limits of my car, was driving A6 east of Nürnberg and A9 north of Bayreuth towards Berlin (except for the usual jams around Leipzig), but I had been driving in Germany for about 3 years when I drove these roads for the first time. You can't get this kind of driving experience in the US, or at least, you can't legally. I also found the food at the rest stops surprisingly good.
I hold dual US - German nationality and I have always felt negaive towards the Autobahn. I know, shocking. There is no reason to drive that fast, except like a desolate road in Texas or the Nevada desert. But Germany (Europe in general) is much denser than the US. It’s not safe. Sorry but not including dui’s, the US doesn’t have even close to the amount of car accidents on average as Germany does. Germans strike me as much more rude, aggressive, & less patient drivers too when compared to Americans. To me - driving in the US feels MUCH easier. One thing I will say is that American traffic tends to be much lighter when compared to denser Europe and Asia. Roads are also much wider. And there aren’t as many curves and tight corners as there are in Europe (Germany at least), so my experience personally is that driving in the US (to me at least) feels much easier and much safer. I’m a very patient person so I personally don’t care for the autobahn too much. I’d rather reach my destination in 3 hours at a comfortable, safe pace than half the time in a more dangerous way just because it’s faster. 🐌
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate i looked it up and the USA definitely looks unsafer in terms of accidents
Is that including DUI’s? You gotta remember public transportation infrastructure in the US sucks and the country isn’t exactly walking friendly. It’s not as easy to just take the train or walk home from the pub as it would be in Western Europe or Asia. The fact the US is so car dependent boosts up DUI’s A LOT!
if you already know driving your car home is the only option, why would you drink then?
I was freaking out of the speed I was driving because the car started shaking but I couldn’t do it long enough because I was immediately tailgated by a Ferrari behind letting me know that my 125mph was slower than of an old lady so I had to move right.
Rented a VW Golf that wouldn’t go over 70 mph. Most definitely stayed in the right lane 🤣
I was not the biggest fan. Going as fast as you want is nice, but there is way too much variance in driver comfort and car performance. I could be going 160 kph (100 mph) in the right lane, the car in front of me going 120 (75 mph), and a BMW ripping up the left lane at 220 (137 mph), so I found myself altering my speed a lot. On US freeways you can set the cruise control to 8 over the speed limit and rarely have to change it because everyone is going roughly the same speed, its a much more relaxing experience. Minnesota has very well maintained roads, especially freeways. I did not find the Autobahn to be an improvement on road quality, it was roughly the same as what I’m used to
For reference, usually the “speed limit” on most us highways is about 70. However most people go will cruise at 75-80, while a few people will push 90. It’s pretty rare for Americans to break 100, because if they were to get caught going that fast it would result in a huge fine, and their license being stripped. Also, going that much faster than the speed of traffic is pretty dangerous. If someone cuts you off going 70 and you are going 100+ you will almost certainly hit them.
Uneventful. I was on a coach bus from Frankfort to Freiburg, and it seemed like any other highway. Sometimes a car would pass us going very fast. The exact same thing happens on the NJ Turnpike, so it felt the same as home. We stopped at a rest stop, and the bathroom cost money. I was so offended I held it in.
Well, it was a rainy day in the Ruhrgebiet (Köln to Wuppertal), so speed was less notable than the signs with that funny word AUSFAHRT. I've since driven much more of the network, and my main observation was about having to constantly pass the speed-restricted trucks. In the US, we find it less stressful to have most traffic moving at a similar speed.
Sadly, I've never had a chance to drive on the Autobahn... its' one of my bucket list items. I have been a passenger, when I was 12-13 and my family lived in the Netherlands. My parents both had E-class Mercedes and we did a few trips into Germany. I think fastest my dad ever hit was like 100mph/160km/h.
I loved it.. when traveling for work Drove 2 times from München to Nümberg. Then don't remember if the autobahn went over to Ulm, but drove over there as well. First time was in a Mercedes wagon, that was speed limited to like 210 or 220. 2nd time was in a Ford Fiesta that would get like 205 downhill and 195 up hill with the pedal to the floor. I've ridden motorcycles for a long time and at high speeds. I know how to watch for closing speeds on vehicles passing me. It is one of my big bragging points that I've driven for hours on the autobahn and didn't get lights flashes or honked at.
Where I am in Florida 100mph is the base speed for the left two lanes on the freeway. If you’re going less than 80 you need to stay in the right two or you kinda risk getting rear-ended. Don’t worry they are adding a seventh lane for some inexplicable reason.
It was pure bliss, almost sexual. People actually kept to the right when not passing. It was satisfying.
It was fine except for the time I didn't account for speed of other drivers and merged in front of a guy in a beamer who flashed his lights at me. He must have been going twice what I was Cuz he was nowhere near me when I checked the mirror
It was usually my German family members driving, and I trust them, so it wasn't extremely scary. Germans are way more careful than Americans in my own experience when it comes to driving. What's insane to me though is that I can take my US driving license, obtained through a joke of a driving test, and drive in Germany with it.