Quote:
Originally Posted by fastball
Americans are not ready for no speed limits or F class, as much as I or you or anyone else on this forum might be.
Besides the nightmare of getting our streets and highways up to 21st century standards (the Autobahn is maintained to such an incredibly high standard that every inch is inspected every year, and if there is so much as a crack forming they replace an entire section of the road in question immediately, and the road is twice as thick as our highway system to begin with), the USA would also have to revamp how people maintain their cars.
Most European countries require a full vehicle inspection every year to get your tags renewed. Now, we're not talking some EPA emissions test......
Your tires must have proper tread, all 4 must be matched for the car, and all 4 must be ballanced and your alignment be within spec.
The engine must be tuned up, no check engine codes, and all the accessories working along with the belts be in good condition
Brakes must be in proper order (pad life, rotor/drum thickness, master cylinder/fluid/brake lines are also inpsected)
No cracks on any window
No rust through or corrosion
The exhaust system must not be rotted/noisy
The transmission must opperate properly
All the safety equipment must be in proper order
And there must not be any modifications made to it not approved
In other words, the junkers you see here in the States are not even road legal in most European countries. That's part of creating a safe environment for high speed driving. It has been proven that accidents on the Autobahn have a lower rate than here in the States, but the entire country takes high speed driving very seriously, and are willing to pay for the infrastructure required to make it safe to do so.
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not only all this but there are strict rules for drivers being on the autobahn, such as no gestures for giving the finger at other drivers, i dont think large trucks are allowed on, your not allowed to run out of fuel while on the autobahn, and the cars that drive on there are designed to crash at top speed of the vehicle and have the drivers survive, but lately i think theres been a bit much of congestion on the autobahn and i think they have part time speed limits in place