Driving in Germany

The first day, on the way from the airport we passed a "Stau," German for traffic jam. This is not your US style traffic jam as it was backed up at least 10-12 KM's, metric system, with people out of their cars visiting, picnicing and just waiting. The cause was a two car accident where a car hit a flat bed truck at a high rate of speed and was partially demolished. Secondary to that is the fact the German Polizei will not allow traffic to start flowing until they complete their investigation into the accident and the site is cleaned. Stau's are something to avoid at all costs as you do not know how long or when you may move again.

Now to debunk a myth, there is a speed limit on the Autobahn. There are sections that have no speed limit but generally it is 130 km/h, roughly 81 mph. You also have to have tires that are rated for the speed you are travelling, generally tires from the US are not the proper ones to have here as ours are generally rated for 90 mph. It is also funny to see American muscle cars get left in the dust by an Opel or VW Golf, not even seeing the German machines that are built for the Autobahn.

Next, a German law that is good, because the Germans have laws for everything. People wishing to get their driver's license have to attend real training and take a real test prior to receiving thier license. US servicemembers are exempt from the training and driver's portion but the written test does a good job of keeping some people off the road. We do attend an orientation course but even with that people still fail miserably. It also doesn't keep jackasses from doing their jackassery but eventually they become slick spots, hopefully they don't take anyone else out.

Finally a law that needs to be instituted in the US. You can get a ticket if you are caught cruising in the left hand lane. If the lane is open and you aren't passing, then you better be in it. Even the older German's seem to be able to follow this one.

All for now.