And while I’m on my soapbox....
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in Europe, at least in the past, it was a PRIVILEGE to drive, was not cheap, a real test, and you had to keep your car up.
In Germany they train drivers, new drivers are limited on engine size etc.... They do not pass on the right, At high speeds say over a hundred, fast car in the left, sees a truck signal to pass, fast car will hit their left blinker to tell slower vehicle they see them and slow so the vehicle can pull out and pass. Then fast vehicle moves on. You do not cruise in the left lane. It is acceptable to flash your lights at a slower vehicle in the left lane if you are going faster. Slower car will move over and let you pass. If you see a faster vehicle coming up on the left, you wait to pull out and let them pass. You will get ticketed for following too close, ticketed for speeding (Limit is the limit, unlimited zones are unlimited zones). They will adjust speed limits based on traffic load to minimize crashes.
The TUV inspections are strict for maintenance etc... Winter tires are required and speed limited to 130 kph (80ish)
If I’ve had a capable car, I’ve driven as fast as a 175 mph and that was in a VW Phateon 3.6l diesel. 5 series BMWs with 2 liter diesel crap out a 130mph. You see a Porsche or big Mercedes coming fast in the left lane, stay the $%&# out of the way until they pass.
Hardest thing to get used to when going over there the first few days is to get used to the closing speeds and braking distances. Slowing from 65mph or from 130 mph is way different in traffic. Pulling out to pass someone takes some getting used to because we’re not used to looking in a mirror and know if the car coming up in the left lane is going 80, 100, 130, 150....
My GErman friend who is a fireman says in the US you can be an a$$hole and drive just fine, in Germany a$$hole drivers kill people so they chose not to be a$$holes.
If we used some of the these practices here, we could enjoy our high horsepower cars more on the roads.
Here.... It is a right to drive slow in the left lane, a right to hold other people up because they don’t need to go faster than us, a right to tailgate, a right to pass on the right, a human right to see a faster car then speed up to cut them off and slow back down....
Nice soapbox... I would love to take the HC to German for some Autobahn runs....
