Driving the Autobahn

 As a teen I heard about this Autobahn. Where there are no speed limits. “Sounds awesome” I thought. Well I did it. I drove it. A few times. 

First of all, let me just say, I like speed. I’m the person passing you on the parkway, the turnpike, Somers point Mays landing road, everywhere. Every time. If you’re not exceeding the speed limit and are in front of me, I’m irritated. I was stopped within the last year doing 92 on the parkway. There I said it. No I didn’t get a ticket. Lol. 

But. The Autobahn is a little scary. Even for a speed demon like myself. 

Ok, let me take a step back and set the stage. At TIMES there is no speed limit. At times there IS a limit. Sometimes it’s 80 kmh. Then 100. Then 120. All within a mile. No I’m not exaggerating. Then it’s no limit. Go as fast as you want. As fast as you think it’s safe. Great!! 180!! 200!! Then, suddenly, its back to 120. Then 100. Then 80. Again all within a mile. Even less. 

And then, even in the no speed limit zone, there’s always someone who wants to go faster thank you. And people who are going slower. People with trailers n stuff who have to go slow. And there’s still only 3 lanes. 

This is where it gets a little scary. 

There you are. Happy as a speed racer. Going 180 or even 200 in the left lane. Then, some nutball comes up behind you going like 250 and you need to GET OUT OF THE WAY FAST!! But, in the far right lane is a car with a trailer going 80. And the guy behind him wants to go 85. So the guy behind passes. In the left lane. The middle lane. He’s perfectly in his right to do so. But you are going 200 and trying to get out of the way of the guy going 250 before he rams you. So that simple lane change turns into a spectacular braking maneuver and you’re just so glad the roads are dry. 

So, in conclusion, I want to say it’s FUN TO DRIVE THE AUTOBAHN. And it’s exhilarating to go 207 kmh (my top speed) But it’s also stressful and I’m

glad we don’t do this in the US. I would not want to do this every day. Of course I could get used to it. I know. 

Some things I thought were really great: People generally do obey the speed limit. And the limits change for good reason. When there are exits the speed limit slows. This makes sense. When there are curves the speed limit is slower. On a straight away With no exits, there is no limit. When there is construction, the speed limit lowers and the lanes narrow and people generally obey the limit. All good. All this makes sense and saves lives. I give it a thumbs up overall. Good system. Maybe I shouldn’t have been doing 207. My bad. 

But it was fun!!  

😜😀😬

FYI – I drove mostly on A9 from Munich to Berlin. Then Berlin to Salzburg. So my experience of 13 hours driving time is by no means exhaustive or expansive. Just sayin.