To bad we can't do this...
 

On our lame public roads.:rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V60QLKZbbmE&feature=related

I was just thinking today as I was driving up to Hartford on the nice wide open I91 how much of a waste of a good road it is to only drive at 65, maybe push it to 80.

You can make a lot better time at say 130.

Since this country is so big we should figure out a way to push up the speed limits.

That looks like the roads in Columbus Ohio. :eek:

Id just be happy to have a clear left lane to pass at the speed limit. German drivers are so much more disciplined.

American aren't mature enough to drive at those speeds.

- Peter.

"population control"

X2 on that. Exhibit A - I-35.:rolleyes:

I do wish there was a dedicated 100 mph lane for people who have to travel long distances between cities.....

Start driving farther and farther from the BosWash corridor and this becomes even more obvious.

Ahhhh, the stretch of road between Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, TX should have a higher speed limit... The roads smooth, and its fairly straight.



I *may* have done 155 mph there for an extended period of time.


I do like how I20 across Texas is 80mph! Made for a somewhat bearable drive!

Well you and Texas.........I could easily see you driving fast there....in an attempt to get across the boarder :rolleyes:

It's great when it works - but the unlimited stretches of Autobahn are fewer and further between. And you have to accept more rules and be more disciplined (as noted above).

I once got a speeding ticket for driving too fast when a "reduced speed limit" due to rain was posted. A friend was driving the car and blew off the electronic 90 kmh signs, but it was my car, so the photos and the ticket came to me.

But I've also driven the length of Germany, at night at high speed. Yes, the cruise control really does work at 130 mph. And you can make great time as long as you can go that fast, but it's usually only for limited distances. North of Hannover is flat, wide and fast. Frankfurt to Munich is much more limited.

You also have to know your car's limits. I was driving an Audi 200 turbo quattro going up hill at 130 mph (that was the "speed limit" for my car due to H rated tires, you can only legally go as fast as the slowest rated equipment for your car). I was passing trucks in the right lane when someone pulled out to also pass the truck. Suddenly I had 90 mph overtake on the car in front of me. Scrub off a lot of speed, let him pass the truck, I pass him... repeat x 3. On the third time I could feel my brakes fading due to heat, so I got over until they cooled then I got on it again.

The other cars passing the trucks were even driving okay. When someone is passing you at more than 90 mph over your speed they're not even a blip in your blind spot. If you're going to go that fast you need to be able to slow down just as fast.

And yes, the drivers on 35 and 1604 and 410 are almost all morons. Signal? Merge? Move over? Nah....not my problem...

It would be nice if I-10 were faster. I drove 75 mph on two lane blacktop in New Mexico. Then you hit the Texas border and it goes to four lane divided highway - and the speed limit drops to 70.

Germany is a small country, we have big open roads, and air travel sucks. Why not bump the speed limits up a bit, at least to 100.

I have a section of road about 6-7 miles long on my commute that is cop-proof due to the geography, all forest with steep drop offs and no cop turn around areas. I have taken my 300E to 130mph for about 4-5 miles through there. :D Those trees just fly by! Still not the fastest I've gone. We pegged our MB rental in Germany at 155 for about 10 minutes when we were there. THAT is fast. :eek:

I agree we need higher limits. The problem is that they would have to enforce it to allow only european car drivers to go that fast. American cars just about blow apart above 75-80.

Because American roads, in general, are crap. I'm talking interstates here. You are right. Wide open spaces and huge distances cry out for high speed roads. But what we have are not high speed roads. We have roads engineered as slow speed roads from a time when 55 was the limit. No banks in turns, inadequate maintenance with lots of pot holes and generally rough surfaces. And then or course there are the moron drivers. Rechts fahren is not a concept that I think would ever be enforceable here. Too many idiots think they own the road.

- Peter.

Most of the interstate system was built before the 55MPH national speedlimit. The open roads were designed for 70MPH or better, and that was using 1960s era equipment. Some urban interstates may be designed for 55MPH, but in general that is not the case.

I think we have three limitations to higher speed limits in the USA - the low standards for driver training, the low standards of maintenance of vehicles, and the vehicle choice. The first speaks for itself. For the second, think of underinflated tires. On the last, SUVs are not made for high speeds - 75MPH is plenty, given the generally crude suspensions, weak brakes, and rollover proclivities.