Autobahn Driving

My wife and I have been to Germany many times over the past 25 years. We have witnessed many changes during that time. One that is most obvious is the increasing congestion on all the roads including the famed German autobahns. I can remember in the early 80s many autobahns posted no speed limits.

We were driving a VW Jetta at the time. It was designed to American specifications because we were shipping it back to the states once we returned after living in Europe for about two years. Many autobahns only had two lanes then. You either were stuck in the slower right lane with trucks and 3-wheel Citroens or you would use the passing lane. Using the passing lane was something you did not do without some degree of caution.

Once in the passing lane, it was not uncommon to be driving faster than my American speedometer could measure. Back then, my speedometer only went to 85 mph. On numerous ocassions, the needle inched up to 85 and stayed there. I really had no idea how fast I was going. This was often the case just to stay in the traffic flow.

It was not uncommon, even at that speed, to have large a Mercedes or BMW pulling up behind you with flashing lights apparently from hyper space nudging you back into the right lane. Once they passed, you then would return to the left lane with a horizonatal reading on your speedometer. My Jetta handled this kind of driving remarkebly well. At 75 mph the car would vibrate a little and would remain vibrating for a short period of time. Shortly after passing the 85 mph threshold, it would stop vibrating and apparently float very comfortably down the highway.

In the past twenty years, things have changed along German highways. Although German roads are built to the highest quality and are constantly under repair, there is too much traffic to have many places with large tracks of unposted speed limits on the autobahn. Even with the price of gas inching up to about $5.50 a gallon, the Germans love to drive their cars and so do the French, Czechs, Poles, etc. Apparently everyone in Europe is driving on the German autobahns.

I know this may frustrate many Germans who love high performance cars and speed. This frustration is very apparent among many German drivers. When they have those short stretches with no posted speeds, they go like a bat of hell! Even if is just for a few kilometers, they drive like it may be their last time to push the accelerator past 220 klm. They invariably must slow down very quickly due to traffic snarls or posted speed limits. It's brief periods of incredible speed followed by long interludes of road construction and congestion,

We flew back to the states last Sunday from Frankfurt. We were visiting relatives in Stuttgart and left about 7:30 AM for a 12:00 Noon flight. Stuttgart is about 210 km from the airport. My German cousing drives a brand new E-Class Mercedes. The trip took only about an hour and 30 minutes. Although there was some traffic, posted speed limits and much road repair, he was able to inch the speedometer past 230 klm once or twice. In mph, that's nearing 144!

I must admit at 144 mph the view out the car window is quite different. Individual trees become impressionists' palates of fuzzy Autumn colors. Sunflower fields appear to be carpets of yellow. It really is hard to carry on a normal conversation with others in the car. My wife sitting in the backseat avoids looking at the speedometer. Her hands are locked on the sidedoor handles as if somehow that will protect her from the various G forces we are all feeling.

Not surprisingly, we got to the airport in plenty of time. My cousin is a great driver who loves his car like most Germans. The traffic jam or "stau" is a way of life in the US and Germany.