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Re: Need Help Bad speeding ticket
Interesting debate.... one example would come to mind. I lived in
Germany for 10 years (can you see my point coming? <grin>), most recently
in 1992. While there I drove a 1979 BMW 728a. It was easily capable of
cruising upwards of 140mph. I can't remember the conversion, but I
usually kept it cruising around 190kph because of the type of tires I was
using. Many of the "worst case" scenarios you have been mentioning have
happened to me-- or some variation thereof. Nothing ever happened that I
was not able to avoid or maintain control during, because the higher
speeds absolutely DEMAND full alertness and attention. Perhaps the
oddest encounter was a goose or some kind of large white bird which
struck the passenger side of the windshield at full tilt, and splattered
gooeyness all over the front of the car-- I couldn't see anything and the
wipers only made it worse... but I got myself stopped-- long story.
ANYWAY, my point is that the roads in Germany are actually no where near
as built for speed as the ones we have here. Many of the autobahns are
lacking ANY shoulder area, and those that have a shoulder usually only
have it ONLY on the right side, and it is not a full lane-width. Also,
the center of the autobahn is not a nice grassy zone for cops, but a
steel guardrail with trees and bushes in the middle. The lanes
themselves are generally skinnier than the lanes here, and the road
twists and turns around so that a straightaway longer than a half mile is
considered a luxury for the eyes to view. Naturally, there are
straighter sections here and there, but no where near as many
high-visibility runways as we have here (I am thinking of I-80 in PA in
particular). The on ramps and off ramps are treacherously sharp compared
to ours, and more often than not, they require entering and exiting
traffic to merge through each other rather than sequencially as we have
here. Finally, the road service is not necessarily any better than the
typical highway here== and many times, rivals the potholes I have
encountered in PA. So how can they drive so fast and still have a
highway death rate which is significantly lower than our "55 Saves Lives"
one? Seatbelt use is mandatory EVERYWHERE. Driver training is closer to
what our Air Force pilots undergo than to what most people get here.
Vehicle inspections are fiercely technical and unforgiving. And finally,
the most important reason, is that everyone is taught the same vocabulary
of "unwritten" rules of the road, and there is a strict adherence to
those ideas... every driver is very predictable, lanes are there for
specific reasons, and the trucks are never going faster than the cars
they are behind. That's how you run a system with high speed limits.
Unfortunately, many of the drivers here are arrogant and undisciplined,
the cars are poorly maintained, and the police are more concerned with
making money off tickets and getting to the next Donut stand in time to
meet their buddies than they are with traffic safety (I can't tell you
how many times I have been blown off the road by a police car at triple
digit speeds for no reason... and see them a few minutes later at a
eatery at some exit where I am getting gas)-- why should I respect laws
the police don't even obey??? Which prompts another question-- for the
police package,do most car manufacturers remove the turn signal stalk? MCS
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