Autobahn 5th Gen. Ass-Hauling

Ladies, lads,

Nice video that reminds me of how very badly Americans drive--the worst I've ever seen. I was reminded of this in Denmark over Christmas; man, they drive well. If you--yes, you, and based on American traffic, lots of you do--occupy the left lane while not passing, you're guilty.
https://youtu.be/gWi00218bic

Thankfully, Washington State Patrol is starting a crack-down on left-lane somnambulants.

Kristian

 

Thats some crazy stuff there, 260kph at 11K Hmmm? They are all use to it over there, that would never fly here, fun though, and to do that for mile after mile.

 

Left his blinker on.....

 

You always do in Germany when on a flyer, so people notice you and move right.

 

Hmm.
Okay...

 

I was over there for 3 years and never noticed it. Flash to pass, but not leaving the turn signal on.

 

This bike must have one of those amazing German-spec ECU's that unleashes factory power.

 

Hmmm...if he meant to have the blinker on for high speed flying visibility, why would he turn it off somewhere in the 5 minute range right in the middle of his high speed run? He turned it on just as he was starting to merge left onto the highway as one would normally do - I suspect he just forgot about it because he was concentrating on the road ahead and not his dash - especially at those speeds - and the blinker light is very dim.

 

I was thinking the same, Terry. But we don't know because we're just seeing the speedo. Only GPS speed is TRUE speed.

I have spent a couple of summers in Germany driving around. The autobahn is nuts for speed, but not at all dangerous compared to here. And that is entirely due to culture. They have strong social pressures that say you pay attention when you drive, you pass on the left and travel on the right, you obey the speed signs (They have situational speeds -- on the road near Frankfurt-am-main they only put a speed limit in where needed and most signs are light up, so if they are lit and at a lower speed, there's a REASON like congestion or an accident) and you get the hell out of the way for emergency crews.

Weirdest thing ever was the one time I was caught in traffic (there had been an accident ahead) and they wanted to land a helicopter. The signs all went to the circle with the slash through, everyone pulled over one lane right except the passing lane, who all pulled left, leaving a huge, wide lane for emergency vehicles. Then everyone hopped out of their cars, had a smoke, chatted with the folks around them for 15 minutes, and when the helicopter flew off traffic resumed normal speed IMMEDIATELY. Nobody fucking around, nobody dawdling. Just get everyone on their way.

It is amazing how much easier life is when people follow a few simple rules.

 

Yep, just this morning I had some crazy lady at a stop sign to my left make a left turn directly into my path - she would have slammed into me if I hadn't seen her coming and was ready to brake hard. I was gonna pull up next to her and ask her how a blind retard can get a license but I didn't want to spark a road rage battle :glee:

According to the article below, Germany is one of the 7 most difficult places to get a license and it costs about $2,000 to get licensed there. I assume that the cost and difficulty of getting licensed would serve as a good barrier for many of the retards over there and they therefore end up having to take the uber/bus/train (where they belong). I wish they would adopt a similar licensing system in Fla.

Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.v...vroomvroom-infographic.html/amp?client=safari

 

Well now, if he had the U.S. spec YELLOW turn signals flashing in his face he'd never forget.

Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but if you can't "tuck" down on the bike high speed riding feels weird and uncomfortable (unnatural, even). I just can't go fast without tucking in nice and tight. When I saw that ginormous tank bag at the start of the video I knew I wasn't going to like the high speed part.

 

I drove on the autobahn quite a bit about 20 years ago. The left signal remaining on was absolutely to let everyone ahead know you were on a high speed run - usually way faster than 200 km/h. Even at 220ish (that was about the max for an Opel Vectra) I regularly saw the left signal light in my mirror and got out of the way of the super Porsches, Mercs and Bimmers as they flashed by.

A few years ago I heard the German govt. had "banned" the practice of leaving it on. I think they may have been trying to promote slightly lower cruising speeds. Maybe that's why it may not be as noticeable these days.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

I don't disagree with more stringent skills tests for licenses, but I don't think that's the reason why the Autobahn is safe even at ridiculous speed.

It's not just training. It is CULTURE, which is far more powerful than laws. People do what they do there because that's the correct thing to do. It's safer for everyone, and it is respectful. It just is the way it is, and to do otherwise is just an antisocial thing to do.

Here, as an example, nobody has stopped talking on their fucking cell phones even though everyone knows it is bad. They made laws, yet people still talk on their cellphones. They are so fucking stupid they think "hands free" includes holding it flat in front of their face with the speakerphone on, and have no clue how impaired the are. They even text while driving -- what kind of a fucking asshat do you have to be to believe yourself capable of reading and typing while operating a vehicle at 70mph or in heavy traffic? Well, in any block of traffic I ride through there's at least one, so there sure are a lot of 'em.

All of these things are because we have a culture that says it is commonplace to drive, and you aren't expected to do more than the bare minimum to keep you from getting a ticket. And when they started pushing cell phone bans, even with overwhelming evidence that even talking on the phone is worse than driving drunk (It's not the hands, it's the phone conversation), there was an uproar amongst the "But... muh phone!" crowd and the cell phone companies who somehow think that you can't live without being reachable and connected literally every second of your life. It's like everyone knows it's bad, but I'm special. I'm the one who can do it safely.

You're not special. You cannot multi-task. If you think you can, you're wrong. And if you try while driving you're wrong AND you're an asshole. Less than 2% of people are capable of multi-tasking, and using your phone is one of the worst things you can do to take your concentration off the road.

As far as passing lane somnambulists, the attitude is entirely antisocial. Maybe it's also a part of the virtue signalling that's so rife in our political system, where you think your way of doing something is correct and anyone trying something else is doing something wrong. But it's shitty and everyone knows its shitty and yet there's always someone who won't pull over on a mountain road regardless of the law that says it's illegal to not use a turnout of 5 cars are behind you. And there's always someone in the left fucking lane keeping pace with the 3 other lanes on the freeway even though there's a line of cars behind him trying to pass. They can somehow justify it in their minds as "they shoudn't break the speed limit" or whatever.

Well, that's not the way it works. In Germany they understand this. Even if you're at the speed limit, or whatever YOU determine is the safe speed, you're causing traffic. You're holding other people up. It is as bad as walking into a doorway and just standing there, blocking folks who are trying to go through. You are impeding someone else. However, if you move over after you've passed, that guy that speeds past you -- regardless of whether you think he's going too fast or not -- no longer matters to you. He isn't causing you any delay, he isn't causing traffic to slow you down, he isn't affecting you in the slightest. There was no reason for you to slow him down in the first place, and there's no reason to even give him a second thought now as he is long gone.

You're not going to change that culture here. In fact, culture is going the other way in the States. Instead of worrying about how you're adversely affecting others, you're expected to just do what you want until someone points it out, then you get all pissy about them telling you what to do. Like the guy who entered a roundabout without even slowing or looking my way and, when I honked as I slammed on my brakes, he flipped me off. In Germany, someone else would have been shaking their fist at that guy, literally, and he might even have gotten a couple of speeches at the next traffic light.

Couple that attitude with the fact that a lot of states -- mine and yours included -- were built around suburban sprawl so you absolutely cannot hold a job if you don't have a driver's license, and you'll never be able to institute expensive driver's training requirements. Especially for recurrent training, which is where you REALLY need it to weed out the drivers who have ingrained bad habits in the States. You'd get a political backlash beyond reason if you tried to take away these people's mobility.

All you can do is be a good example. Cajole your friends if they do stupid shit. Make sure to point out to everyone you know that camping in the left lane is as strong a douche move as wearing a Tapout t-shirt with a giant baseball cap turned sideways. And if they talk on the phone or, god forbid, text when they drive tell them stories of every biker you know or can make up who has been grievously injured by someone not paying attention and let them know they're the root of all evil on the roadways. Because they are, and probably shouldn't still be your friend if they do this.

 

Very well said MooaeMoose.

 

What Moose said.

Kristian

 

Love the mix of GDCs intertwined with the marvelous V4 note from 21Secs to the minute mark.

 

I agree. Talking on a cell whilst driving or riding is dangerous. IMO. it's much safer to text.

 

I hope you're using protection BB - remember - ATGATT :glee:

 

We have an exemption here for cell phone use by emergency first responders. That is bull shit. They can use the radio in an emergency. I have never found the absolute need for cell phone usage as a police officer while driving. If that kind of privacy is needed, pull over and use a land line.

Using your hands for the phone is only a small part of the distracted driving. The fact that you are carrying on a conversation with someone that is a major distraction to safe operation of a vehicle. I have operated a radio while engaged in a pursuit and found that it severally interfered with my ability to efficiently operate the car. On occasion, to the point, I abandoned the pursuit. Our policy became such that if there were two perusing cars involved, the primary driver did not use the radio. The broadcasting of the pursuit was carried out by the secondary perusing car. That increased the safety by a substantial margin.

 

I don't actually text in the sense of using one of the electronic devices. When I was abducted they put an implant in my brain that allows me to text directly. This allows texting as well as mind control. Right now you are thinking of posting a vid or a R&R Utube next. Next you are going to say BB is full of shit.