AMERICAN AUTOBAHN

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
-Samuel Adams

"There is no speed limit on the Autobahn. Before pulling into the left lane to pass, check the rear view mirror very carefully as far back as you can see. Cars traveling at 160-180 km per hour approach suddenly, so when passing, do so quickly and then quickly return to the right lane. WARNING: Do NOT admit any guilt. Do NOT sign anything unless you know exactly what you are signing. "
-US Embassy in Germany

Edited by webmaster John Lee

An interview with Mark Rask, author of AMERICAN AUTOBAHN. Also starring Phil Patton, author of Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile, Dr. Roger Wines, professor of Modern German History at Fordham University, and Brock Yates, editor-at-large of Car & Driver magazine, and author of The Last Cannonball Run.

$24.95
1 Volume Set
50 Minutes
Item Number: AAE-43554 (VHS) 71221 (DVD+R)
©2002

Mark Rask nails History Channel at 212mph

HISTORY CHANNEL: The system includes thousands of miles of roads. Many of them are unhindered by speed limits. Yet the legendary German highway system is among the safest on earth.

THE AUTOBAHN proves that the familiar adage "speed kills" isn't necessarily true. From the system's origins in Hitler's Third Reich to a breathtaking ride down a midnight highway at over 200 miles per hour, MODERN MARVELS® explores every aspect of the most famous freeway system in the world. See how German drivers are trained to navigate the autobahn, and find out how the roads are maintained and monitored to keep accidents to an absolute minimum. Automotive scholars reveal how the existence of the autobahns has played an important role in the development of the car, and archival photos show how the roads themselves have evolved over the years.

From the #1 public works project of Nazi Germany to a mecca for high-speed motorists worldwide, here is the complete story of THE AUTOBAHN.

212mph on a public highway in the rain at midnight is perfectly legal and statistically safer than driving 55mph on US Interstates

HIGHLIGHTS: RUF Automobile test drives a customer's modified 520bhp Porsche 996 Turbo, reaching a top speed of 212mph on the public highway, at night, in the rain, without breaking a any traffic laws. The record holder for top speed on the German Autobahn is 268.9mph, set by Mercedes Benz' Grand Prix racing driver Rudi Caracciola in 1938. Bernd Rosemeyer, driving for Auto-Union (Audi), crashed at 270mph attempting to regain his lost record, and died after being thrown from the car (seat belts had not been invented yet - it is not known whether his was the first death on the Autobahn). This official world record, for any public road, apparently still stands today. During the so-called Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, Germany set a speed limit for the Autobahn, that lasted for four (4) months. During periods of rush-hour traffic on the Autobahn, break-down lanes are opened up for drivers, increasing the traffic flow 180%. Also during periods of extreme congestion, motorcycles are allowed to travel between all lanes of traffic, further increasing the flow, especially for postal dispatch deliveries (as is the custom throughout Europe).

The ban on speed limits on Montana's Autobahn Interstate in USA was "Reasonable and Prudent"

Additional "Autobahns" reviewed by History Channel include the Italian Autostrada and Montana, USA, which had no speed limit during the 1990s. Politzei commander Horst Hablowetz graphically demonstrates how to give other drivers the universal "bird" and "asshole" in sign language, explaining that is a crime of "insult", if the "victim" makes an effort to prosecute. Hablowetz explains that the worst danger on the Autobahn are "ghost drivers" - sociopaths who drive the wrong way and crash head-on into unsuspecting vehicles, causing severe crashes and deaths (200mph or higher closing speeds). Hablowetz also bragged that Germany uses a sliding scale for traffic fines, depending upon the income of the convicted driver, which resulted in a $20,000 ticket for tailgating, the most common traffic ticket on the Autobahn (perhaps he was paid commission or bonus, like in USA for police revenues and IRS agents?). Politzei bikers and unmarked vehicles use videocams to document alleged charges for traffic court. Over 200 fixed video cameras are used to determine when to change the lane-use designations via electronically adjustable speed-limit signs, and to reduce speed limits ahead of traffic jams.

Drivers cruised at 268mph on German Autobahn in 1930s

ADOLF HITLER STRASSA - At first, the National Socialist (NAZI) Party opposed the Autobahn as an unnecessary extravagance, since only 1 out of 100 Germans owned a car. After the NAZIs gained a democratic majority, they praised the Autobahn for its obvious propaganda and military value. In 1933, at the opening of the Berlin Auto Show, Hitler ordered, "the guidelines of a mass mobilization of Germany: tax abatements for car buyers, the building of the Autobahns, repeal of obligatory driving school, and encouragement of motorsport." Hitler then abolished all of Germany's 169 trade unions, and seized their bank and accounts ("nationalization" via socialism). Hitler "attempted" to open the Autobahn to more Germans with the Volksauto ("People's Car"), that Hitler renamed "KdF-Wagen" (which Dr. Porsche hated), but only 300 were built by the time Hitler ordered Porsche's "Beetle" production halted and replaced by more serious war production, like Panzer tanks. Few Germans got to enjoy the Autobahn, however, since many were forced to work on it as virtual slave laborers, and it was not as efficient for moving military supplies as the railroads. It was perhaps more useful as expedient airports for the Luftwaffe, and in fact 30 such landing strips were scattered throughout Germany. The American and Russian armies did make good use of the Autobahn as they closed in on Berlin, although the retreating Germans were ordered to destroy all the bridges in Hitler's scorched-Earth policy. After the war, the Volkswagen Bug finally became Germany's "people car". Ironically, mass-murderer Hitler did his small part to help create the most successful car in the history of the world.

Related Stories:

Wreckless Driving ends unconstitutionally vague Montana Autobahn speed-trap scam: STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RUDY STANKO, Defendant and Appellant (SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA, 1998 MT 323)

Autobahn Tourist Links - Drive across the English Channel or Chunnel to jolly old Britain, and try Mr Brain's Faggots - "Meet the Doody family – true faggot fanatics" - and lest we forget: "National Faggot Week - a British knees-up, a fun night out with Dr Faggot and the Mr Brain's Faggot Family. A company spokesman said: We are looking for a family with Brains. The winner will get a contract, and all the faggots they can eat. Do you dare eat Mr Brains faggots in a famous public place? DON'T BE SHY, send in a photograph, along with your name, address, email address and become a member of our Faggot Photo Gallery."). Or perhaps, try the taste of Spotted Dick (Advertised on TV as "The Queen's favorite desert." - This is NOT a joke!)

US Embassy - Driving in Germany - Driving tips, insurance, vehicle inspections, German traffic code

German Autobahn signs

"American Autobahn, written and autographed by Mark Rask, takes an enthusiastic look at the state of American highway safety, exposing the half-truths and myths about the single most misunderstood factor in traffic accidents today - speed. The book offers an exciting new direction for America's Interstate that would make speeds of 100 miles per hour or more, commonplace on open stretches of rural freeways, with far greater safety than ever imagined at 55 miles per hour. Cool! There's a lot of people who would like that!"
-CTV Channel 12, Knoxville, Tennessee

VIDEO DOWNLOAD - 60 second clip

As seen at 212mph on the History Channel - Modern Marvels: Autobahn

By James M. Clash
Forbes Magazine
August 28, 2003

Want to drive at 150 mph? With a little advance planning, U.S. motorists can do it on the Autobahn--maybe someday here at home.

Roughly half of the 7,000-mile German Autobahn system has no speed limit. It is perfectly legal, for example, to pass a police car at 130mph as long as you signal and use the left lane. In fact, says Mark Rask, author of American Autobahn (Vanguard, 1999), the average speed for cars is 80mph; at any given moment, 15% are traveling 96mph or faster. Yet, surprisingly, the Autobahn is safer than U.S. highways. In 2001 the death rate was 6 per billion passenger-vehicle miles, versus 8 for U.S. interstates. (The number of passengers per vehicle is not appreciably different.

Why? Drivers in Germany must be at least 18 years old. They have to fork over more than a thousand dollars to undergo 24 hours of rigorous private instruction, including training on the Autobahn, and pass a comprehensive written test. Only then can they obtain a license. Compare that with the U.S. system, where no formal training is required--all you have to do is pass an often-cursory driver's test--and the minimum driving age in many states is just 16.

German roads are built better (a 28-inch-deep roadbed versus 11 inches in the U.S.) and are better maintained. German cars such as BMWs and Mercedes handle well at high speeds and are designed to sustain less damage in a collision. Finally, someone doing 96mph is not likely to doze off.

Extreme speeds, however, pose special dangers. No matter how well trained German motorists may be, a driver in the right lane has trouble judging the speed of a car approaching him from the rear. He sees only a dot in his rearview mirror and may think he has plenty of time to pull out and pass the car ahead. Wrong!--if that "dot"is closing in at 150 mph. Thus the watchwords for an aspiring speed demon have to be: "Drive defensively."

Though a U.S. driver doesn't need anything more than his or her U.S. driver's license and a rental car (we recommend a top-of-the-line BMW or Mercedes) to negotiate the Autobahn, anybody wanting to do so safely ought to take a high-speed driving class before ever leaving home. Schools such as Skip Barber (skipbarber.com), Driving 101 (driving101.com) and Bertil Roos Racing (racenow.com)impart the necessary skills and boost your confidence. [Webmaster's Note: Be sure to get the skid-control class. Bikers need to face the reality of Countersteering - initially steering left to turn right, and initially steering right to turn left, at all speeds above walking pace, as first observed by the Wright Brothers, who graduated to building airplanes (Superbikeschool.com).]

Try to schedule your Autobahn speed run for the wee hours of the morning, when traffic is at its lightest. Find a stretch between two exits with a long straightaway, then traverse it several times the day before at lower speeds, so you become familiar with the terrain. The Bavarian Autobahns offer many such areas. Work up to top speed gradually--don't try on the first run--and be smooth. Jerky movements at high speed will unsettle any car.

My own baptism took place at night on the A96, between Mindelheim and Munich. I'd clocked 200mph before on racetracks--but never on a highway. Alois Ruf, owner of Ruf Automobile, a maker of exotic sports cars, graciously lent me his historic Yellowbird CTR for my attempt. With twin turbos producing 470hp, this had been the first production car ever to break the 200mph barrier, in 1987, clocking 211mph.

After "getting used to it," I managed to hit 190mph, but night blindness made me tense. At high speeds, tense isn't good. Sensing my discomfort, Alois, who came along for the ride, suggested a change of venue: We would try again the next day on the A81 Autobahn between Würzburg and Heilbronn, after rush hour but before lunch. Daylight driving sounded safer to me, so I didn't argue.

Sure enough, the next day I could see a lot better. But there was traffic--enough to give me pause. Yet onto the A81 I went. I built up to 140mph, awaiting a long, clear stretch of road. After several nail-biting attempts, I found a promising gap between the Mockmuhl and Neuenstadt exits. I shifted gears, flipped on the high beams and matted the throttle. The rocket was launched. Each new gear felt like I was jettisoning another stage--amazing raw power.

Suddenly, approaching 200mph, the front of the car felt very light. Everything peripheral--trees, guardrail, signs--became a blur. Then, bingo! 201mph. I immediately eased off the gas--and none too soon. A quarter-mile ahead was a truck lumbering along in the right lane.

Will drivers ever be able to enjoy such thrills in the U.S.? Given the lower death rate on the Autobahn, one might think the U.S. would emulate the German system. The closest we've come, says author Rask, have been the "reasonable and prudent" speed limits that held sway in half a dozen U.S. states in the 1950s. These were superseded during the energy crisis of the 1970s by a more fuel-efficient 55mph federal standard. After the federal limit was repealed, Montana reverted to "reasonable and prudent" until its state supreme court ruled it unconstitutionally vague in 1998.

How about a private-sector Autobahn--a toll road, say, between major cities or airports? It's been tried, with limited success. In the mid 1990s Trip II, owner of the Dulles Greenway, was able to get state legislation passed to raise to 65mph (from 55mph) the speed limit on the Greenway from Leesburg, Va. to Dulles Airport.

"What really needs to happen," says Rask, "is for a U.S. senator to drive the Autobahn, get fired up about it and forge ahead with a U.S. version--the way President Kennedy championed the space program." Anything less than a federal program, he says, would face tough local obstacles. Individual states might be reluctant to remove limits, since many now get significant revenue from ticketing speeders [and would lose return of their "federal highway funds" contingent upon average speed of state traffic (extortion)]. Private toll roads, subject to state authority, would have to win approval state by state, and driver's ed programs would have to be severely upgraded. Rebuilding the 45,000-mile interstate system to Autobahn standards would cost $12 million per mile, or approximately a half-trillion dollars. When you consider, though, that the deeper roadbed would last twice as long (40 years, versus 20 for the interstate), the proposition becomes a bit less outlandish.