Hate the driver not the...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Verrückt @ Nov 17 2006, 04:59 AM) [snapback]350730[/snapback]</div>

It is more difficult to get and keep a drivers license in Germany than it is in the US. There is also a strict and rigid code to lane usage depending on speed driven, so German statistics and road experiences really aren't applicable to us.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Nov 18 2006, 01:12 PM) [snapback]351388[/snapback]</div>

Interesting, but "quite common" is not the same as "constantly". Also, because there is no speed limit, I don't know if drivers expect faster cars in Germany or if they culturally are more liklely to stay in the right lane unless passing.

I guess I think a LOT of our problem is the culture that ANYONE can drive and NO ONE should be forced to lose their license if they break a lot of laws. So, I would have to study it more.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Nov 18 2006, 10:46 PM) [snapback]351575[/snapback]</div>

They teach and enforce STRICT adherance to a lane classification for speed. That is people who obstruct traffic in the left lanes will be stopped and can very easily loose their licenses. Thats the main difference.

They also, as a rule of thumb, take driving and the skills involved a lot more seriously.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Nov 18 2006, 11:12 AM) [snapback]351388[/snapback]</div>

More difficult to get a license? Sure, but not by that much. It's mainly more expensive (~$2k). You learn about lane use in the US too and there are even signs which stay "slower traffic keep right" on US highways.

Surely you can't be insinuating that a little extra bit of driver's education class (which anyone will forget within a few years anyway) will have a massive effect on overall highway death rates.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Nov 19 2006, 01:41 AM) [snapback]351617[/snapback]</div>

Actually, traffic enforcement is much more strict in the US. You rarely see patroll cars out in Germany. You're not going to lose your license for being in the left lane. You could lose it for dangerously passing on the right though.

This happens in the US too. My ex girlfriend was stopped going up a mountain pass in Montana. Her old Subaru didn't have the mustard to stay above 75 and she was holding up traffic (even though the speed limit was 65). The trooper reamed her out pretty good and I was laughing the entire time.

Like I said, if speed is such a huge factor, you would think it would show up in the statistics. It doesn't. As a whole, Germans are "better" drivers I would say, but the difference is not as huge as most make it out to be.

The German fine system is a joke compared to the US. Speeding tickets are cheap and a slap on the wrist compared to the US. Speeding tickets have no influence on insurance rates and you can accumulate quite a few demerit points before you need to worry about any sort of revocation.

 

Also, the freeways in Germany are ten times better quality than over here. They are billiard table smooth, straight as an arrow and are kept in perfect condition. Allow no speed limits on most of our freeways and it would pound our cars into wrecks without hitting anything.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Verrückt @ Nov 17 2006, 06:59 AM) [snapback]350730[/snapback]</div>

Hasn't anyone else noticed that this graph indicated that the US was doing at least at good as Germany until around 2001, when the data for the US ends?

Also, I'm not sure if this applies to Germany, but in Denmark the people are fanatical about not driving after drinking anything at all and having a designated driver. At least they were 30 years ago because they said their license would be permanently revoked if they got caught. So even if the odds of getting caught are small (Verrückt says there are few patrol cars in Germany), the end result is much more dramatic and is a great deterrent. Many of the problems in the US are caused by drunk drivers. If those statistics were removed the charts would be greatly improved.