Driving!

Driving in Germany is an adventure! You really have to pay attention.

So, in America, if you're going straight on a street, you generally have the right of way over people turning onto the street, right? Or if you are on what would seem to be the main street, you would have the right of way over people going across, right? Not so here. Unless you are on a street that is specifically marked as a "priority road," you need to yield to cars on your right. That even counts in roundabouts, unless it is marked otherwise. It has messed me up a few times. I'm hoping to get used to it. The guy who teaches the driving class on base said that they do it that way so people will have to slow down, since people don't always listen to speed limits.

Other than that main point, the rules are generally the same. The signs are different, but most are pretty easy to figure out. Though some are seriously confusing. For instance, there's one that has a picture of a car that's crossed out. That doesn't mean that cars can't enter, it means that the earlier restrictions allowing ONLY cars to enter is now over. So, that one is scary the first few times you drive past it.

So, we do have the Autobahn of which you have heard. No speed limits, right? Well, kinda. Some parts don't have speed limits, but the parts that do have speed limits are sloooow. We have a lot of freeway that is 100 km/hr, which is about 60 mph. But, we also have a lot of construction, which brings the limits down to 80 (~50mph) and 60 (~40mph). Even in places without speed limits, if you are going over 130 (~80mph) and get in an accident, you are assigned part of the fault, even if it was completely the other car's fault. When you aren't on a freeway, most of the time the speed limit is 70 (~45mph) for open areas and 50 (~30mph) in town. For small roads, the limit is 30 (~20mph). There are also areas where you can drive, but that pedestrians have the right of way. In those areas, you are only supposed to go walking speed.

The penalties for speeding are really bad. You get fines for all of the different levels of speeding, and points on your license for most. As you get higher, you also lose you license for increasing increments. If we get a speeding ticket as Americans here under the military, we also get fines & points against our special US Army Europe (or something like that) licenses. So, I don't speed much. I did go 100 mph one night when there was very little traffic. It was fun, but it was only for a minute or so before I came to a speed limit.

People do speed, though. A lot. When you're on the Autobahn, you have to be really careful. People will go racing by at amazing speeds. Most people seem to stick to the right lane for traveling/left lane for passing rule. But, there are a bunch of semis on the road with you. So, you have to really figure out ahead of time when you're going to want to pass somebody, because you have to be able to speed up enough that you won't get run over when you move into the left lane.

Another odd thing is that the lights are on the same side of the intersection as you are. It took me a while to figure out why I couldn't see the light if I pulled up to the line. In the US, the lights are on the opposite side of the intersection, so you can see them easily. Not so here. For many lights, if you're first, you have to crane your neck to see it. There's also no turn on red at all. One thing I really like, though, is the green light warning. Just before the light turns green, the yellow comes on with the red. So, you know that the green is coming. It's pretty awesome.

Emma says - I remember a really fancy car zooming past us when we were in the right lane. I sit on the right side of the backseat, and I could feel the car going past from where I sat. it scared me near to death.