The Reality of Driving With No Speed Limits (German Autobahn Experience)

[@joey86bu1]

Wow whoever came up with the idea of the Autobahn must have been a very smart guy who was never wrong.

[@nicomotor]

He must have also been a true creative. Probably went to art school too

[@joey86bu1]

@@nicomotor Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaa Btw new sub love the content, humor and insight.

[@marcberm]

Putting aside that the no speed limit approach only works because of strict enforcement of other laws, I think the cultural differences are not insignificant factors either. In the same way that Americans may wonder how Germans manage to get by without speed limits, I bet many Germans question why it is that Americans can't get by without so many guns. And cultural shifts, even when positive, are glacially slow.

[@nicomotor]

You're not wrong, plenty of Germans I know don't understand that about Americans

[@marcberm]

@@nicomotor Plenty of Americans don't understand that about Americans either. And yet, here we (still) are. 🤷‍♂

[@choosumfat]

Absolutely. And just to throw some gasoline on that fire, back in my off-roading days, I used to be in touch with a lot of my European counterparts. And Germans especially were crushed that they can only dream about building a fully kitted off-road capable 4x4 and be allowed to drive it on the public road. So there is that.

[@nkhan4]

You know how hard and expensive it is to get a driving license in Germany? So people who do drive there are very well versed on road etiquette's and only using passing lane to actually PASS, and then get back in to the slower lane. RE: guns, its not just Germans; your neighbour to the north wonders the same thing, so does most of the civilized world, especially when you hear the counter argument from gun supporters every few days after a mass shooting.

[@domfrancis9888]

@@nkhan4 very true.

[@kinkerhoer28]

i really watched this video thinking this dude had a ton of subscribers? you deserve more subs man

[@nicomotor]

You just made my day, and this video is helping with low number of subscribers!

[@newYorkStories]

A couple of important fun facts about the Autobahn (and Germany): All BABs (Bundesautobahn) are designed to drive safely up to at least 130kmh (81.8 mph). There are no potholes, there are no sharp curves. - Getting a driver's license in Germany will cost you at least 1000 Euros, so everyone driving on all of the roads is trained like a Special Ops Marine. - Passing on the right is illegal - it's understandable, because drivers on the left lane are just too fast for you - You have to drive on the right-most lane at all times, unless directed otherwise "Rechtsfahrgebot". If you don't, you can get pulled over. I did, and the cops only let me pass with a warning because I pulled out my NY State driver's license - If you drive faster than 130kmh, you're on your own - legally. If you cause an accident, you're on your own. Insurance won't pay. Even if you're not at fault - because driving faster than the "Richtgeschwindigkeit" automatically puts you in the outlaw category - but hey, it's still legal to drive that fast.

[@nicomotor]

I wish I had remembered to add the whole deal about insurance. You're absolutely right on all those things

[@MedEwok]

It's not correct that insurance won't pay when you drive over 130 km/h, but you will be confronted with a "Teilschuld" (=partial guilt), meaning you will have to pay for a part of the damages even if you didn't cause the accident, but contributed by driving fast.

[@choosumfat]

I absolutely love driving on the Autobahn, I do the length if A9 every year. I don't go there to drive fast but rather to drive thru to Austria and Italy, and I don't really do the top speed either. But the fact that I can cruise at ~120mph most of the way hauling family and luggage is so refreshing. Also, now that I'm older I really appreciate the German Order. Not that there are no idiots on their roads, but in general it really makes sense to obey the rules so that you can enjoy the drive. In my experience when ze Germans put up 100km/h sign, you really should slow the F down or it wouldn't be there. Also, their tunnels are freaking gorgeous.

[@nicomotor]

Where I live in the US I always feel like the laws are taken more as suggestions. So whenever I go back to Germany I'm always amazed at how organized the roads are...were it not for all the Audi drivers

[@mhacksy1234]

@@nicomotor nah man BMW drivers are much worse.

[@ChallengetheWild]

this video is very good 10/10

[@domfrancis9888]

This was very informative for when I go to Germany. 🙏 thx master.

[@nicomotor]

You're welcome young padawan, always happy to teach people what I know

[@ErikBuilds_official]

My tip for driving fast is to go to Brandenburg, there's lots of straights that don't have a speed limit.

[@nicomotor]

Noted 👀

[@danhenderson1177]

Great video man! Very high quality

[@MrDaddynomates]

When I used those roads I found it difficult to go fast in most places due to traffic and roadworks.

[@newYorkStories]

Nico, we are in the same Boot, und das ist der Grund why I am subscribing to your videos

[@nniklask]

so getting away from cities is pretty easy since germany is not as widespread as the US is. in my region for example (in the south) it takes about 10 mins on a normal day to get to the autobahn. luckily it also instantly has no speed limit there

[@nicomotor]

I suppose it depends on the city where you stay and where in the city you stay, but yes, cities are far more compact in Germany than here. I live in a city of 100k people and you would be surprised how long it can take for me to reach the interstate highway.

[@mohammedkenneth5229]

This guy speaking perfect german baffled me

[@nicomotor]

Bilingual bro, also had to kind of show some kind of credibility that I had been to Germany

[@mohammedkenneth5229]

@@nicomotor understandable. Im moving back to the uk in august and the autobahn is probably the thing im going to miss the most

[@nicomotor]

Right hand drive AND no autobahn...yikes 😅. How does it compare driving on either side?

[@mohammedkenneth5229]

@@nicomotor naja ich bin dort aufgewachsen deswegen ist es für mich kein großen drama aber in england bin ich noch nie auto gefahren. I just hope i wont start driving on the wrong side and hit someone😂

[@nicomotor]

Ach so, Ich hatte gedacht das du dort auch schon auto gefahren bist. Ich hoffe das sehr das du nicht jemanden triffst.

[@bartvanderzanden5856]

Allright, I think that being able to go faster every now and then is nice, and Germany really has high standards. But let's spoil the mood with some more facts: there may be less deaths per billion miles travelled than in America, but on autobahn sections without a speedlimit there's a 75% higher deathrate than on sections with a speed limit. Also, the highest recorded speed might be 268 mph, the average speed is about 64 mph. Wich is only marginally more than in Holland, where there is a speed limit of 60-80 mph. So with no time lost on average, you're basically trading a higher death rate for fun. Please yourself, I guess...

[@nicomotor]

You're not wrong, and credit where credit is due, Holland does a great job of efficient safe transport. I watch the yt channel Not Just Bikes pretty frequently so I'm well aware of how nice it is there, even to drive. But as a gear head myself, I love the freedom of going as fast as possible, despite the risk involved.

[@toniderdon]

I just recently found this channel and even tho your description says you are German, you don't have any German accent at all :D Which is good because I can't stand our German accent

[@nicomotor]

Oh, I sink ze German accent is not so bad 😅

[@bhspenceryt]

While there is no speed limit on the Autobahn it is still illegal to drive "carelessly". You can absolutely get arrested for driving that quickly.

[@davidsellon4580]

I'm sure it's much easier to go that fast when the roads are maintained properly, which I'm sure they are in Germany. I can't imagine doing 200mph on any road in the US; it just wouldn't be safe no matter what you're driving.

[@nicomotor]

Yeah they are impressively well maintained. They also are mostly made of concrete which wears down a lot less than asphalt.

[@aloysiusbelisarius9992]

No, not really; not any more than "The Interstate" in America. A6 through Kaiserslautern was ripped up from the time I got there to the time I left...and as far as I know, it *still* is ripped up. In fact, there are many ripped-up destruction zones in western Germany, partially because the government put in so much funding to buck up eastern Germany, at the cost of western Germany.

[@paulus5877]

@@nicomotor In my Area of germany, we do complain alot about broken down roads, not being taken care of. But yea. The Autobahn itself is pretty well maintained.

[@nicomotor]

I welcome you to visit Alabama...I promise the roads here are worse

[@paulus5877]

@@nicomotor ;D i wouldn't bet against it^^

[@domfrancis9888]

Yeah but Germans can’t drive till 18… and they are also more responsible and conservative in the sense of driving. I wish we had something similar to the autobahn in the US, but I think the cats and super snakes would loose control like they do on the highway systems.

[@nicomotor]

Germans are better drivers, that's why I'm the best driver in existence. But I wouldn't trust any mustang owners to go all out.

[@domfrancis9888]

@@nicomotor 🙌 women hit curbs, mustang owners hit crowds.

[@my_dear_friend_]

There are plenty of young German idiots driving on public roads. I was one of them until I smartened up and luckily killed or injured no one. Sure was lucky though.

[@domfrancis9888]

@@my_dear_friend_ yeah, but the training is a lot better then in America. For example, I went into the DMV, and went out. Drove with an instructor for about 7 minutes and then I revived my license.

[@my_dear_friend_]

@@domfrancis9888 - Agreed. Not easy or inexpensive to get driver's license in Germany.

[@adrianniemiec8669]

Europeans are much better drivers. Also , many cars in Europe have manual transmissions , which makes you the transmission and you do not fall a sleep behind the wheel.

[@nicomotor]

Yeah, finding people who drive manual is really rare around here. I feel like I'm a part of a dying breed 😅

[@Keplaris]

Yea, it’s hard to practise driving manual with parents when they drive automatics.

[@jhc5760]

I'm pretty sure that trucks are limited to 80 Km/H in Germany, which is 50 MpH.

[@nicomotor]

That does sound right. Google is showing me 56mph, 55mph, and 80km/h for various scenarios so maybe I got the exact number wrong but it's in the ball park of: really slow

[@jhc5760]

@@nicomotor 8 Km is pretty close to 5 Miles. (160 Km/h = 100 MPH) Made it easy to do the speed limit in the US when the car I was driving only displayed Km/h. 55 Mph = 88 (or 90) Km/h. As a separate aside, insurance does not pay for an accident when driving over ~160 Km/h on the autobahn. (The exact "speed" could be a bit different and it may be on their equivalent of the US "Collision" part of insurance in states without no-fault laws.)

[@nicomotor]

I actually didn't know that about the insurance, would have been good to include in the video

[@SuperEman500]

Semi trucks shouldn’t pass at all, no need if you’re the slowest elephant on the road.

[@irg008]

Say you have never driven a LKW without actually saying you have never driven a LKW

[@sausagedog52]

if american had an autobahn the sides would be covered in totaled nissan altimas

[@nicomotor]

But in the moments before the altimas were totaled they would be the fastest cars on the road

[@scottmcc7280]

And Hondas of all kinds, with zero ground clearance.

[@nicomotor]

Nah they're slow. Loud but slow

[@my_dear_friend_]

You get better roads when taxpayer money is allocated differently. And when more is available because the taxes are higher there.

[@domfrancis9888]

I don’t think the triumph would last on the glorious highway from God. 🙏 maybe soon tho

[@nicomotor]

Gotta fix the starter motor first, it takes like 20 tries to start it now

[@domfrancis9888]

@@nicomotor damn is it the fuse?

[@nicomotor]

Nope, power is getting to the starter motor, but its not turning so there's something inside it where electricity is not flowing through

[@nicomotor]

it also doesn't have a fuse box

[@domfrancis9888]

Heh hehe he

[@aloysiusbelisarius9992]

Well, I cannot hear anything due to dead sound circuits; but if the premise here is the same as the popular Yank misconception of "The Autobahn," I don't need to hear anything. So, here comes the debunking of the popular Yank misconception of "The Autobahn." If the author has in fact covered any facts I'm about to give, I apologize for repeating...though I think it warrants repeating, as the Yank misconception of "The Autobahn" is about as hard to eradicate as the concept of a flat Earth back in 1488. The following are factual observations from a Yank who lived in Germany for three years, from 2013 to 2016....yeah, rather recently. First: There is *NO SUCH THING* as "The Autobahn," not in the way Yanks imagine it to be. They picture a huge, straight, multi-multi-lane path from one end of Germany to the other, where you're allowed to get crazier-'n-Hell, going as fast as your engine will take until it blows itself up. *NOT THE CASE!* "The Autobahn" is nothing more than Germany's version of "The Interstate." Does any Yank refer to America's no-stopping highway system as "The Interstate"? Of course not; if anything, they will use that phrase if they are referring only to one specific interstate, usually the one they are used to seeing locally. "The Autobahn" is exactly that: It is a *network of highways intertwining across the whole of Germany,* and nothing else; actually, our interstate system was created from Germany's system (thank you, Hitler 🙄). The proper way to refer to it as the collective whole is "autobahn system," or "autobahns," as there are a helluva lot more than just one autobahn in Germany. Second: The no-limit area(s) of the autobahn system is *NOT* what Yanks imagine. I can't really speak for the northern part of the country, from Hamburg to Hannover or Berlin to Bremen; but I have driven nearly all the southern half of the country, from Saarbrücken to Nürnberg, and from Dortmund to Friedrichshafen, and *NOT ONCE* as any no-limit stretch been any longer than *10 miles.* You be thinking you be free of the law, then suddenly you will see a sign designating a speed limit of 130 kph, or 100 kph, or even as low as 80 kph...and usually with very short notice, if any at all. If you don't hit the brakes to comply with that sudden speed limit, you can expect the traffic-cam network to nail you with a hefty fine notice in the mail. Germany has a massive traffic-camera citation network that will nail you; consequences of a socialist society disguised as a democracy. With that system in place, you now know why you won't see polizei units stationed in medians or shoulders waiting to nab speeders all that often. Those no-limit zones are really short sprints in the real world. Third: Even in those no-limit zones, there is a provision in German traffic law that *recommends* capping your speed at 130 kph (for Yanks, that's the equivalent of 78 mph). If you wipe out in a no-limit zone and the cops determine you were over that recommended cap at the time you wiped out, *you will be prosecuted for excessive speeding,* possibly even reckless driving. You ain't got freedoms on German highways, any more than you do on American highways. In fact, I dare say you have fewer; another bit of traffic factoids Yanks can't comprehend is the mandatory use of winter tires from October to April...or at minimum, all-season tires that have specific "M+S" certification. If you do not change out your tires to the winter ones within the designated period, again you will be prosecuted for it. If the author already pointed out any of these factoids, then I accept that I'm just repeating what has already been said. But it warrants repeating as many times as necessary, as this myth about "The Autobahn" really needs to be dispelled.

[@nicomotor]

Looks like the script I wrote for this video. Good job on the summary