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Comment by sologoub | Hacker News Reader

Speed is not the issue. Weaving in and out, tailgating and other similar behaviors are.

Just came back from Germany and drove on the no speed limit part of the autobahn. It was orderly and I felt perfectly safe with family going equivalent of 120mph. No one cutting you off, unless passing, no sitting in left lane. Getting passed at that speed like you are standing still takes a bit getting used to, but again, it’s very predictable. Did not witness any accidents in 2 weeks of driving. It can be done, just need proper rules, penalties for breaking them that are actually enforced and of course good roads (didn’t see any pot holes either).

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> Speed is not the issue.

Speed substantially increases the severity of collisions when they do happen. A non-fatal collision at 70mph might be a fatal one at 80mph.

A truism, which is not very useful. The strategy of reducing speed to reduce collisions/severity compared to reducing dangerous behavior that leads to collisions is like the failed war on drugs.

I’ve been hit a few times in US and always it’s a distracted driver going fast and not following any rules. Speed limit didn’t slow them one bit. Not even in a school zone. Training, enforcement and more training is in my view a better answer. Not perfect, but better.

You can't train people to not get distracted, you can only train people to try to avoid distractions like phones or arguments in the car. But regardless how much you try there will always be distracted drivers on the roads.

Being distracted behind the wheel has a lot of cultural aspects - in US driving is viewed as almost a right, else where it is a hard earned and expensive privilege. People tend to value what they had to work hard for. Of course there will be those who don’t, but increasing the barrier to entry to operating dangerous machinery might be a good thing. Look at licensing approaches around the world and you will see places with higher barriers having a bit more order on the streets.

Slowing traffic is a component in Sweden's very successful "Vision Zero" to eliminate pedestrian fatalities. Not the most important component, but an important component.

I was commenting on freeway style roads. Pedestrians shouldn’t be on an „autobahn”. City streets are a different matter all together.

It’s not the fact that people pretend they don’t know that speed kills, the problem in America is that people don’t care unless an immediate family member is killed by someone else.

The problem here is the problem of casinos, people here buy into the illusion of control.

Not that I'm a fan of cars in general, but I 100% agree with everything you've said here, there's no good reason for the absurdly low speed limits on major freeways, especially since the average speed of traffic is often 20mph over, making it actively unsafe to do the speed limit. Though I will say some of the potholes we've got on 880 are unsafe at any speed.

Unless pot holes are fixed, increasing speed limits will just make them more dangerous.

> Not that I'm a fan of cars in general

I, too, prefer socialist trains over the individuated, elitist inefficiency of cars. https://youtu.be/9-Jy-yBboCM

Sounds like you've driven in the only part of Germany where people behave. My experience is it's as bad as everywhere else in neighboring countries with the tiny difference that the lanes are a bit wider than in most places. I usually don't drive in the left lanes and I still get the impression people want to check what I'm transporting in the back all the time.

The German autobahn is not orderly, every 5 minutes someone with more than 230 kph drives on the left lane and wants to kick you out of it when you dont get out of it asap. If you want a good example go to the Netherlands, i've never had issues there in several decades.

You shouldn't be in the left lane if you aren't passing someone. If you are slowly passing people then you need to speed up to overtake more quickly.

Doesn't matter which lane you drive yourself, you see it regardless and it sucks.

The point is that people in the left lane should not need to be "kicked out" because they should always be looking for the first opportunity to get out of the left lane, not travelling there

This is mentioned all the time but the cost to get a driver's license in Germany is incredible high. And even after spending a lot of money on training, most native Germans fail the exam the first time. Then, like you said - there are rules and very stiff penalties in place for after you get your license.

Americans would simply not put up with this.

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