Is it scary if you don’t do 100mph+?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68C-r9kSLNE[/video]

Had to be done. 😉

I don’t see why it should be a problem, if you are aware that cars are coming on you quickly and you don’t make any sudden movements.
Isn’t the unrestricted speed only in the outside lane though?

alot of Autobahns are limited now anyway.

Only real experience was as a passenger in a transit… I didn’t know vans went that fast 😯

Just keep your lane discipline and remember that when you are doing 90 there are still folk loads faster

I am a fan fan fan

In Germany they advise a speed of 80mph, but there is no actual limit.

and Don Simon, in answer to you from the recently closed thread. I asked about the vaulter so i could find more pictures 😀

No, not at all. Major difference is speed diferential,be aware someone might be doing 120mph . Apart from thhat , do not slow to 60 mph before turning off onto a exit or slip road, the slip roads are longer to allow for decelleration .
Almost all drivers slow down for the 100km speed limits near towns, as they are policed or have cameras, then speed up when clear off the town.
If there is an accident the traffic ‘herringbones’ to allow the emergency vehicles through the middle.

Driving on the autobahn in Germany is a pleasure compared to driving on the motorway here. The Germans drive faster, but their lane discipline is much better. Actually, their overall standard of motorway driving seems to be much better than ours.

Just be aware, when they do have an accident it’s usually a big one, which can result in the mainly two-lane autobahns being bumper to bumper for hours.

and Don Simon, in answer to you from the recently closed thread. I asked about the vaulter so i could find more pictures

That’s about the best picture of her, do you want her to vault your……? It’s an interesting story behind the photo and how it has affected her life. As a photographer myself, these are the pics you look for. How people react? The photographer can’t control this, can he? 😉

Sorry for the hijack. 😉

Just remember that the junction distances are all marked in km and that you are going faster than usual. As soon as you see the “junction – 2km” sign, it’s time to get into the nearside lane.

Only scary if you have a laughing German in a BMW M6 behind !

I ‘ran in’ an Opel Corsa for Europcar from Munich to Plattling a couple of weeks ago. 😀 As above, generally the driving standard is much higher so probably no more dangerous than UK motorways at normal UK speeds. Still a bit mental round the city at busy times though.

I once, in a rather nice Audi, drove at 145MPH on a said road 😯

Made me slow down over here… It’s blinking dangerous on UK roads

My parents live over there and one pointer ive picked up from driving there (and being passenger) is that if drivers are really bombing it in the outside lane they will have theyre headlights on at all times of the day, so if youre driving a bit slower on unrestricted bits (80mphish) then keep an eye out in your wind mirror for lights!

They are very keen on keeping to inside lanes if youre going slower, and you WILL be tailgated if you are in the wrong lane.

i found that if you can even see a car in teh fast lane don’t pull out, it’ll be doing over 100mph

ive a vw van and it’ll sit at 90mph all day long, but ive had cars come past like im going backwards !!

I’d just add that in Spain, the Germans are some of the better drivers in big cars, very respectful. Don’t know how that translAtes to Germany though.

can a Prius do over 100mph? 😯

Prius does 108mph 🙂 But I’m taking the Passat I think.

Molgrips, If I told you why I hadn’t called you yet you wouldn’t believe me but it vaguely involves a middle eastern secret police 😯

I might not believe you but I might appreciate a good laugh 🙂

I’ve ridden at 160+mph for 20miles or so on Autobahns, it was intense and my neck muscles ached! It took a lot of concentration, cars came close very quickly! Top speed was 184 (indicated) 🙂

I read this thread just so i could listen to Kraftwerk… love it

I’ve ridden at 160+mph for 20miles or so on Autobahns, it was intense and my neck muscles ached! It took a lot of concentration, cars came close very quickly! Top speed was 184 (indicated)

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

I’ve ridden at 160+mph for 20miles or so on Autobahns, it was intense and my neck muscles ached! It took a lot of concentration, cars came close very quickly! Top speed was 184 (indicated)

You are surf_mat & I claim my £5.

😉

I have been on “das autobahn” said in an Alan Partridge accent only a few times back in the early 90s and they had cameras on them then.

The authorities’ concern at the time was not speeding but tailgating according to my Dad and the driver.

In Germany they advise a speed of 80mph, but there is no actual limit.

Not strictly correct. Only about 30-35% of the autobahn network is de-restricted, the rest is limited to 130kph (80mph). On the de-restricted bits if you have an accident and were doing over 130kph then they will examine your driving before the accident much more closely. They do still have cameras but mainly in the restrcited areas near towns and cities.

One thing to watch out for is when the big Mercs and Beemers, or whatever, do come rocketing past you will get a lot of buffeting, bit like passing a lorry on the motorways in the UK at speed, but in reverse.

As previously said, they’re very big on lane disicpline, so watch out for headlights rapidly approaching and if you’re not overtaking move back over or be prepared to be tailgated VERY close. I used to max out the Elise at 130 and still had people passing me as if I was at a standstill.

i dont know why people in uk cant drive properly on motorways or dual carrage ways.
Its like cos the speed limit is 70 they think they can just sit in the middle lane or fast lane and have traffic undertake as they just refuse to move to the left. if everyone did youd have a much faster road system. M25 etc tho is another league as the volume of traffic but when i was back over xmas, just reminded me of how shit it is to drive.

i flash people to move across and they look at you as if to say im wrong when in fact all 2 slower lanes are clear clear and they just sit in the fast lane at 60…….

plop

die Autobahn ist toll nur mehr ausgebildete Leute fahren;)[u]

just don’t get confused about the signs that say ausfahrt and wankbahn

The thing is though, while their lane discipline is great on 2-lane autobahns, its just as crap as anywhere else in the world once you add more lanes…

But as for speed, luckily when we lived in Germany I had a company car/fuel 😆 everywhere was driven flat out – especially as I had UK plates.

And don’t be tempted to try and use your lights to ‘bully’ someone, this is seen as real bad ‘form’.

Another tip; at night when its wet due to the lack of cats eyes keeping to lanes ain’t easy…

One of my friends thought “ausfahrt” was a place and all the signs for it were direction signs! Big place hey!? 😆

My sister thought Hotel Gwesty was a very popular hotel in Wales that had a lot of signposts for it.

The hire cars from Berlin schonefeld all run out of steam at about 220 km/h…

Use your rear-view mirror a lot more than in the UK.

I’ve driven a lot in Germany and IMO they are completly bonkers over there. Not driven for a single day there where I havn’t seen the aftermath of a really serious accident caused by people being unable to grasp that at 240 kph your reaction time when you drive 5 metres behind the car infront, is rather less than the human body is capable of.
So you pick your way past the cadavours and flat-packed BMs and the tailgating resumes immediately!
Driving is definately more aggresive in the south of the country.
Apart from the tailgating, drivers are fairly polite and law abiding which just makes that issue even more suprising.

Just watching a programme about the Autobahns, National Geographic. Just hope you don’t come across this guy. 400km/hr. 😯

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_fje3gPVk[/video]

Just found the full video.

It’s great if you’re in/on something really fast. I find the lane discipline really good. On a big sports bike it’s a hoot when you come up against all the Mercs/BMWs that are limited to 155mph and have to pull in to let you past.

It’s horrible on a 2 lane when you’re in something really slow. I drove a T3 VW Camper down to Munich and it was happy at around 60. All the trucks were doing 50-55 and most of the cars seemed to be going 100+. Trying to pull out from behind trucks into the outside lane was a nightmare so in the end I just sat among them and trundled along.

I drove across Germany following the E40 and loved it. It felt slow where there was a limit of 130kph despite not driving much quicker where there wasn’t one – 150kph (I touched 100mph twice maybe).
It’s fun and lovely but you’ll need to concentrate especially that you’ve been driving an engineless dustbin and might not be used to higher speeds (not that I am BTW).

I took a rental fiesta from Frankfurt up to Munster on the autobahn and it was great. At some points cars do come up behind you fairly quickly even if you are doing 130Km +. Remember your lane disipline and move back accross whenever possible as there will be people who feel happier going faster in much more powerfull cars but you can have alot of fun guessing the cars as they fly past.

I really like driving over there. Lane discipline is very good compared to here, as is obeying speed limits. I’ve had 120mph out of mine just to see, but not for long, it’s too fast and don’t feel in control. Some of the speeds folks come past at is astonishing. Had an S Class come past well over 200kmh (according to my mate) a few years back, he was doing 130 in his Golf on our way up from Switzerland. Massive buffeting when it came through. Just keep your eyes open and keep right where you can. The rest areas are much better than ours too.