Is The American Autobahn Next? How States Are Pushing Highway Speeds Past The Limit

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

A person who was thinking logically would absolutely not support this as fatal accidents increase exponentially with speed. The human brain simply cannot react to hazards effectively at such high speeds, and cars are not designed to protect passengers from impacts at such high speeds.

New cars are getting safer with each passing year. Engine technology is getting better as well. I've driven well over 100 on I-15 usually not going faster or even being passed on my regular trips to Vegas and there is no issue. A well designed road won't have this problem. If done, this could even boost CA tourism more than it currently is. No doubt you'd have people come from all over the states to drive these roads.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

If there is no speed limit then relative speed differentials will be much HIGHER because you'll have one guy trying to go 65 and another trying to hit 120. And relative speed doesn't matter after you've lost control and are crashing into fixed objects.

Also the suggestion that you can add all these lanes cheaply is incredibly ridiculous. If California couldn't build a HSR line what makes them think they could build a highway of the same distance?

The new lanes will surely have minimum speed limits and trying to use that as an excuse to not implement such a law would be the same thing saying people like me speed so there is no reason to lower speed limits where it needs it.

You're assuming building four new lanes in ROW that already exists would cost anywhere near building technology that has never been built in this country on completely new ROW in many areas?

[SIGSEGV]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog will mix well with this!

[Baronvonellis]

Well even in Germany the trucks only drive around 60, and the BMWs are flying past them at 120+. If it's only personal vehicles it would be safer, but with big trucks on the road there is going to be a huge differential in speeds of different vehicles. Big trucks hauling cargo are not going to go 110.

Also, people in Germany are very strict about obeying lane awareness. So that if you are going slow they will always stick to the right lane, and only go in the left lane to pass or if you are driving very fast. In the US, I hardly ever see people with enough lane awareness, and people drive slow in the left lanes, or just put on cruise control and hangout in the left lanes. Cars should only be in the left lane to pass quickly, or if they are going very fast.

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

The new lanes will surely have minimum speed limits and trying to use that as an excuse to not implement such a law would be the same thing saying people like me speed so there is no reason to lower speed limits where it needs it.

You're assuming building four new lanes in ROW that already exists would cost anywhere near building technology that has never been built in this country on completely new ROW in many areas?

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

In the US, I hardly ever see people with enough lane awareness, and people drive slow in the left lanes, or just put on cruise control and hangout in the left lanes. Cars should only be in the left lane to pass quickly, or if they are going very fast.

The fact that proper divided highway rules and etiquette are NOT even taught in drivers education in this country has a lot to do with how stupid so many drivers are. If it was engrained in the driving culture we wouldn't have near as big an issue with it.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

Also, people in Germany are very strict about obeying lane awareness. So that if you are going slow they will always stick to the right lane, and only go in the left lane to pass or if you are driving very fast. In the US, I hardly ever see people with enough lane awareness, and people drive slow in the left lanes, or just put on cruise control and hangout in the left lanes. Cars should only be in the left lane to pass quickly, or if they are going very fast.

Yes to this.

I find European drivers much more aware of their situation and surroundings than American drivers. Specifically, Europeans are much more likely to move right to get out of the way of faster drivers. Americans are totally clueless in this regard. They are either oblivious or intentionally slow down to piss off the faster driver (both incredibly unsafe). Europeans simply move out of the way to let the car pass.

How many times have you seen a car entering a highway instantly move to the left without regard to the speed of the car in front of them or the speed of the car they just got in front of? I don't know if people don't like dealing with merges or simply believe they drive too fast for the right lane but soooo many American drivers have this allergy to sitting tight in the right lane.

Really, nothing irritates me more when driving when I'm able to drive past a car from the right. If multiple cars are passing you from the right, move the fuck over.

[JManc]

Police in Europe probably do a better job enforcing lane usage rules. It's supposedly a ticket-able offense but I never heard anyone being pulled over for it. I tend to be on the faster side when I'm on the freeway/ highway (80+) and can't stand it when some schlep is cruising along in the left lane doing 60-65.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

Well even in Germany the trucks only drive around 60, and the BMWs are flying past them at 120+. If it's only personal vehicles it would be safer, but with big trucks on the road there is going to be a huge differential in speeds of different vehicles. Big trucks hauling cargo are not going to go 110.

Also, people in Germany are very strict about obeying lane awareness. So that if you are going slow they will always stick to the right lane, and only go in the left lane to pass or if you are driving very fast. In the US, I hardly ever see people with enough lane awareness, and people drive slow in the left lanes, or just put on cruise control and hangout in the left lanes. Cars should only be in the left lane to pass quickly, or if they are going very fast.

This is a good point and unless more strict driver license testing is to be had, there will need to be divided lanes that separate unlimited or higher speed limit lanes from the "slower" lanes.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

The fact that proper divided highway rules and etiquette are NOT even taught in drivers education in this country has a lot to do with how stupid so many drivers are. If it was engrained in the driving culture we wouldn't have near as big an issue with it.

There is also a weird incompetence that seems to be prevalent here in the states when it comes to roundabouts and zipper merging. I do think a reform in drivers license testing is in order.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

There is also a weird incompetence that seems to be prevalent here in the states when it comes to roundabouts and zipper merging. I do think a reform in drivers license testing is in order.

People know what to do, they just don't care because the police don't enforce the laws.

[M II A II R II K]

High-Speed Alternatives to High-Speed Rail

https://www.city-journal.org/califor...l-alternatives

.....

- It may be some time before autonomous cars can navigate streets and adapt to all the complexities of urban life, but self-driving freeway travel might not be so far off. It will require better highways. --- Access to this high-tech superhighway would be strictly controlled. Only properly inspected smart vehicles with transponders would be permitted. --- With usage limited to qualified automobiles, the cost of building an autonomous autobahn would properly be shouldered by those who drive on it, preferably via tolls.

- Who wouldn’t pay an extra $100 (half a plane ticket) to zip along, hands-free, at double the speed of the current I-5, not having to deal with TSA at the airport, and still have access to their own car when they reach their destination? --- In this scenario, the autobahn would be the car version of an express flyer, with exits and rest stops spaced out at 50-mile intervals to reduce lane-changing.

.....

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

High-Speed Alternatives to High-Speed Rail

https://www.city-journal.org/califor...l-alternatives

Just another anti-HSR hit piece. The projected LA>SF transit time was 2 hours 45 minutes in 2008, when Prop 1A passed, and nothing that has yet been built precludes that speed. It also doesn't acknowledge that the transit time between LA Union and San Jose will be right at 2 hours, and Burbank to San Jose about 1:45. No commercial flight can compete with those door-to-door times.

What's more, Uber and Lyft will be penny stocks in 3-4 years. For-profit rideshare will go the way of Prodigy and CompuServe because it can never make money. Not with drivers, not with driverless cars.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Uber and Lyft will be penny stocks in 3-4 years. For-profit rideshare will go the way of Prodigy and CompuServe because it can never make money. Not with drivers, not with driverless cars.

The demand is there so even if these two companies don't make it, someone else will come in fill the niche with a modified business model. A lot of companies go years bleeding money before they begin to monetize and I don't see why these ride-sharing services won't do the same. Now that they are public, the pressure is on to become profitable.

[Busy Bee]

Don't be naive, Uber and Lyft started with the intent to transition to autonomous when the technology becomes viable and ultimately practical for the rideshare/taxi business model. Do you really think they haven't thought about this? They can't wait to get rid of those pesky drivers, especially now that they have the nerve to start demanding a living wage and rights and stuff. Get outta town. Down with humans, up with AI and profits yeah!!!

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by JManc

A lot of companies go years bleeding money before they begin to monetize and I don't see why these ride-sharing services won't do the same.

They're losing $5+ per ride. So in order to be profitable, they need to charge $8-10 more per trip. The majority of Uber's trips are very short, in the 1-2 mile range. Ridership will plummet when a minimum fare jumps from $5 to $15.


Uber's overhead is massive as compared to a traditional cab company. The propriety app requires an army of developers who are paid $100k+. A traditional cab company doesn't have a single employee who makes $100k.

They have a dispatcher, an accountant, and 2-3 guys who maintain the cabs back at the shop. That's it. Advertising is minimal.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

High-Speed Alternatives to High-Speed Rail

https://www.city-journal.org/califor...l-alternatives

Ironic that they're using a picture of Shanghai (Shanghai taxis and buses are very obvious), one of the most HSR connected places in the world, in an anti-HSR article.

[llamaorama]

Also, people in Germany are very strict about obeying lane awareness. So that if you are going slow they will always stick to the right lane, and only go in the left lane to pass or if you are driving very fast. In the US, I hardly ever see people with enough lane awareness, and people drive slow in the left lanes, or just put on cruise control and hangout in the left lanes. Cars should only be in the left lane to pass quickly, or if they are going very fast.

The thing that bothers me about this is what do people in the right lane do when they need to pass but can't realistically catch up to the high speed of traffic cruising in the left lane?

Imagine you are driving a minivan at 70 mph. Up ahead is a truck only going 50 mph. You want to pass. But in the left lane there is a BMW going 120 mph. You wait for the BMW to pass, then there's another one, and so forth. Are you forced to drive really slow, so that someone else can drive much, much faster? Seems kind of unfair for "left lane for passing only" to not apply to everyone. What do you owe the guy in the BMW exactly, why is he entitled to go fast and take away your ability to get somewhere on time?

I have a seething hatred of people who drive really fast. It's incredibly dangerous. Imagine you activate your turn signal, then you check your mirror, then your eyes shift back ahead to your current lane for a moment. Then you move over. In that time someone could have whipped around you in a very fast vehicle and hit you as you get into that lane. I know some people here are car people, so I'll be a troll. But I mean it. Maybe governors should be required and no production car should be able to go over 90. What would be the harm in it? It would lower everyone's insurance, it would make traffic management easier, there would be no wild car chases, etc.

[SIGSEGV]

Modern cars have the technology to make speeding impossible, it's a travesty that it's not in use.

[10023]

There are certainly huge swaths of America where speed limits are unnecessary.

[10023]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Modern cars have the technology to make speeding impossible, it's a travesty that it's not in use.

Only if they were to pair this with significant increases in speed limits. 55mph on an expressway is absurdly slow.

This would also keep me from buying a new car. Vintage cars would become even more expensive than they are now.