I have been reading articles on that subject for over 30 years. And for 30 years there have been unrestricted sections of the Autobahn.
Fastest I have ever driven is on the Autobahn. 240 kph.
Puff piece. Lower speed limit for 10% of cars that do 140mph. 90% are joe public driving 80mph
What else would you expect from the NY Times about cars?
Parts of a car design like the tires and suspension system that work perfectly at 80-90 mph might well fail miserably at 140 mph, even just due to a change in the wind direction. Youād think there would be a lot of pretty spectacular crashes at those speeds.
One would think thereād be a lot o fhigh-speed crashes, but Iām almost certain the data shows there arenāt. Iāve lived in Italy, where the autostrada had no speed limits, and in Germany, where the autobahn is the same. Drivers there know to keep out of the āspeedā lane unless theyāre in a vehicle that can safely go those speeds. If they have to get into that lane to pass, they IMMEDIATELY get back into their lane. I had a Jaguar that could go 115 mph, and in the fast lane, Iād see in the rear view mirror headlights blinkāthe signal for āGet out of my way,ā and I would, quickly, to see a car pass me going perhaps 150mph. The most famous high speed autostrada crash was actor WIlliam Holder, going about 150m smashing into a slower car, killing the occupants. Not sure, but I think he was exonerated, because the other car shouldnāt have been going ātoo slowā in that lane.
Another nail in the coffin for āspeed killsā. Speed alone as a cause of accidents is highly over-rated. As Mike would say though ālive free or dieā. In my view though, part of the whole game is to try and gain control over others and itās just a means that can be used, like safety. You can make an argument against anything citing safety as the goal. Beware they come in sheepās clothing.
Iām not sure but I think the original purpose of the autobahn was to be able to move troops and equipment around quickly. At least in the US, the vision Eisenhower had was a quick evacuation route in case of attack. Oh and yeah I remember when there werenāt any around here. Can you imagine trying to get out of town now during an attack? Better to āshelter in placeā with a tarp.
I read he was convicted of drunk driving, given an 8-month sentence, suspended.
Eisenhower commanded a convoy across the country after WW1, learned the terrible state of our roads. Somebody wrote a book about this a few years ago. āNational defenseā was more of a sales gimmick - remember when student loans were āNational Defense Student Loansā (NDSL)?. And he didnāt want them built in cities. The military has the right to commandeer them in case of military necessity, but what civilian is going to object to the Army using a state highway (etc.) when thereās a military necessity?
While in Italy in 1966, Holden killed another driver in a drunk-driving incident. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. (Wikipedia)