too bad I have a diesel 3-series waggon...

hertz was out of S3's...

 

Top speed sir? (of course, report rain speed only)

 

but there are still sections which are unlimited. hopefully the green party doesn't remove them all, or you don't get an foreigner clogging the lanes when you try to use them...

lots of cameras which patrol the cities and some sections of the autobahn. be careful or you'll find a surprise when you get home months later...

 

I spent a week in Munich last year, rented a 325 diesel 5 speed. There are certainly limits in the city, and they are not very high. There was a lot of construction when I was there, so a lot of times I'd be stuck in traffic crawling anyway. On the Autobahn (trip to Neuschwanstein castle), the speed limit goes up an down like every 5 miles. Anywhere between 100 and 160 kmh. I kept speeding up and slowing down, drove me nuts. It started to rain when we drove back, and I stayed a bit under the speed limit. Every now and again some car or (!) motorcycle would pass me by as if I was standing still -- and it was pouring cats and dogs.

Personally, I didn't find the quality of the auotbahn much better than US interstate highways.

 

an old guy in a MB 190 got smashed from the rear...he was doing about 80-110km/h in a left lane...got hit by a e39 M5 doing a lot more...it was very early in the morning, 4-5am, so visibility wasn't the greatest....anyways...MB looked like the rear half of the car was completely pushed in, all the way to the B-pillar, BMW's motor flew out and the driver had to be airlifted....whole traffic was stopped....pretty bad accident.

 

but the difference is in build quality, as in anything German when compared to American I guess. Anyways, their foundation for the highway is much much better. They use much better asphalt, maybe even different materials alltogether...or actually US uses different materials than most other developed countries in the world.

Another point, Autobahn and other major highways throughout Euorpe are built in a way so the water runs off the pavement quickly - they are angled. Another advantage of the autobahn is that it doen't have sharp turns or elevation changes which allows for safer high rates of speed. They have cameras all over the place and monitoring system like no other country(maybe Japan) in the world....so if **** happens they are there in 2 minutes....no need to wait for someone to call 911.

But what's most important in my oppinion and what allows them have no limits at certain sections of the road doesn't relate to the structure of the road at all but to the ability of people driving their cars. When comparing driver's education in Germany or anywhere else in Europe to the one in US one will realize the difference. I was amazed that you can take a road test without taking any classes here....I was 19 at the time when I needed US driver's license and even though I had an international driver's license and could drive anywhere they made me do the test to get an actual one....I thought, oh ****, I have to do it all over again but when I found out how its done I was amazed. Oh well, it was easier for me but when I think about it now I'd rather have them be mre strict when it comes to it, i would feel safer on the roads around here.

 

not even kidding. unless of course you travel to other countries, b/c once you cross into Belgium for example, it goes to #%@* immediately.

hitler designed the autobahn to withhold tanks traveling on them and it's foundation is many times deeper than ours (don't know the #'s offhand). of course, they probably don't have crooked paving companies that design in self-obselescence, either. :-\

 

-Roadbed and surface measuring about 68 cm (27 inches) in thickness

TRAFFIC REGULATIONS

To safely facilitate heavy, high-speed traffic, special laws apply when driving on the Autobahn:

-Vehicles with a maximum speed rating of less than 60 km/h (36 mph) are prohibited as are bicycles, mopeds, and pedestrians.
-Passing on the right is prohibited! Slower vehicles must move to the right to allow faster traffic to pass, and drivers should stay in the right lane except to pass. When passing, you must do so as quickly as possible.
-Stopping, parking, U-turns, and reverse travel are prohibited, including on shoulders and ramps (except for emergencies, of course.)
-Entering and exiting is permitted only at interchanges.
-During traffic jams, motorists must leave an emergency lane between the left lane and the adjacent center or right lane for emergency vehicles. This is accomplished by traffic in the left lane moving as far to the left as possible and traffic in the adjacent lane moving as far to the right as possible.
-If you have a breakdown or accident, you must move to the shoulder if possible and place a warning triangle 200 meters behind the scene. You must report the incident to the authorities using the nearest emergency phone (see below.)

AND BEST OF ALL...

-It is illegal to run out of gas on the Autobahn.