German vs. American Drivers - A Trip Report and Call to Arms

[Slow Play Ray]

I spent last week in Germany for work. I stayed in a city and commuted to a test facility out in the suburbs (well, more like a village) via the autobahn every day. German highway drivers in general are aggressive, aware, and concise in their driving patterns. People drive in the right lane until there is someone in front of them going slower, at which point they move into the left lane, pass the appropriate vehicle(s), and move back into the right lane. When they commit to passing, they pass - no driving ever-so-slightly faster than the car you are passing and taking a full 5 minutes to complete the pass - they just commit and do it. If, while they are passing, a faster vehicle happens up behind them while they are passing multiple vehicles, they move back to the right into the slower traffic at the first opportunity to allow the faster vehicle(s) to pass, and then move back to the left to continue their own passing. The majority of traffic is in the rightmost lane, and the amount of vehicles per lane decreases from right to left. To be fair, there are people who stick to the left lane, but those are generally the people driving obscenely fast (no speed limit on most sections of the autobahn) and passing everyone anyway. If by chance someone faster came up behind them, they would surely move as well. In an entire week of driving, I did not see a single driver pass somebody on the right (though I did see one attempt promptly shut down by the passee). It’s a great system, and consistently made for a pleasant, enjoyable commute where I could drive whatever speed I was comfortable with without worrying about anyone caring or slowing me down.

Upon returning home, I got on the Massachusetts Turnpike to visit my father for father’s day, and 25 minutes later came to a frustrating conclusion: American drivers are unbelievably stupid. They cram the left lane completely full and refuse to pull to the right for anyone. If someone faster comes up behind them, most people blissfully ignore any opportunity to pull over and let them by. This of course forces faster drivers to resort to passing on the right and weaving, which in turn results in “policing” by the originally offending vehicles who feel they are going fast enough and deserve to be in the left lane, and now will go to great lengths not to let you back in. Accordingly, the traffic pattern is completely backwards: pretty much nobody stays in the right lane, there are a bunch of cars cruising relatively slowly in the middle lane, and the left lane is jammed full bumper-to-bumper with cars barely moving faster than the middle lane. It’s like people think “I’m not driving in the right lane, that’s for slow cars. No you idiots – the right lanes are for cruising. The lane(s) you are in are for passing. I was at my wit’s end by the time I finished my ~30 mile ride, and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So yeah this is basically a rant, and I know this all seems obvious, but when you drive on a highway system that actually works as intended and moves traffic along in a consistent manner, and everyone participating understands and employs the rules of the road, it really makes you wonder why Americans are so challenged by what should be an intuitively-obvious system.

So why do Americans drive like idiots? And how do we fix it? Or is it just a Massachusetts thing? Is it better in other parts of the country?

[adsman]

In Italy on the autostradas, everyone drives exactly the way you described, (nice description by the way.)

Now, your question is how do you make all you seppo's drive the same way? Well, I assume that you've only noticed this about American drivers since you've come back from Europe, so this bellies the fact that before you left you drove in the same way without realising it. So the answer to your question is send all of your fellow countrymen over to Europe on driving information tours.

[Slow Play Ray]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I assume that you've only noticed this about American drivers since you've come back from Europe, so this bellies the fact that before you left you drove in the same way without realising it.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, it has always bothered me, but I always assumed it was basic human nature to drive like idiots and I dealt with it. But now I have seen that this does not have to be the case, so I am far more frustrated by it than ever before.

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, I assume that you've only noticed this about American drivers since you've come back from Europe, so this bellies the fact that before you left you drove in the same way without realising it.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, it has always bothered me, but I always assumed it was basic human nature to drive like idiots and I dealt with it. But now I have seen that this does not have to be the case, so I am far more frustrated by it than ever before.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, well what do Americans do when confronted with injustice, inequality and bad driving habits? They get a superhero to take care of it. Seeing as no current superhero can solve this situation I recommend that you become, "Highway Man". Get yourself some super stuff and sort the bastards out.

[KJS]

Americans are selfish, claim ownership over whatever space they are inhabiting at the time and defend that claim ruthlessly. Not a good cultural background for an activity like driving which, as you correctly imply, involves giving way at times for the sake of the community.

Yes I am one.

KJS

[Slow Play Ray]

Very succinctly put! So highways are merely a microcosm of the very societies they interconnect...

[Tron]

Ray,

I would look for things to improve in the very near future now that God has thrown down the Ten Commandments... for driving.

[iron81]

It's not that American drivers drive discourteously, its that we have a different courtesy. Unlike the Autobahn, almost all roads here have speed limits, and for good reason. The real [censored] are the ones who are trying to do 80mph on a urban interstate. If it takes someone "only" doing 65 in the left lane in a 55 zone to get them to slow down, good.

My personal driving habits are to drive the posted limit or 5 over and try to stay right. However, I don't feel the need to break the speed limit to get out of someone's way if they are breaking the law and there's a slow truck in the right lane.

[ QUOTE ]
which in turn results in “policing” by the originally offending vehicles who feel they are going fast enough and deserve to be in the left lane, and now will go to great lengths not to let you back in.

[/ QUOTE ]
While changing lanes to block someone is obviously assholeish and dangerous, the "originally offending vehicles" probably were going fast enough and do in fact deserve the left lane. Personally, I hardly ever see lane changing to block someone happen.

[Slow Play Ray]

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It's not that American drivers drive discourteously, its that we have a different courtesy.

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couldn't agree less

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
Very succinctly put! So highways are merely a microcosm of the very societies they interconnect...

[/ QUOTE ]

So are national football teams. The samba boys of Brazil, tactically strong Germans, physical Americans, etc..

KJS