Merseyside motorist caught doing 165mph banned

[Mich the Tester]

So that's why the autobahn's are mostly two lane, heavily cambered and with no hard shoulders then... I always did wonder about that.

The cambers are there to allow for high speeds and in most places I've driven in Germany they have a hard shoulder. Another difference to countries with lower speed limits is that they don't tend to have a lot of signs on the motorway to distract people. Two lane roads aren't really a problem as long as people use their mirrors properly, i.e. look deep into the mirror before indicating and changing lane; from what I hear the German driving test isn't exactly the easiest in Europe. They also have speed limits that are only enforced when it's raining, and can be as low as 90kmh on otherwise unrestricted sections. Maintenance of the autobahn is almosst obsessive; they don't just fill a pothole but replace a whole freeze resistant concrete section; that's what makes some German motorways look a bit aged when actually they're very good. Trouble is, when you're going fast there's always a high chance of some dopey idiot with a caravan (usually Dutch) pulling out from behind a truck at 90, which can make for interesting brake tests. But then it's quite surprising how quickly a high performance car can stop. The German government regularly study accident rates and it seems there's no difference in accident rates between sections with speed limits and unrestricted sections.

[Halo Jones]

so all the hand-wringing talk of being ludicrously dangerous at that speed (in a car capable of a safe 200 mph, remember) is somewhat misplaced. Were he in Germany, he could be doing the same thing in traffic and nobody would bat an eyelid.

So that's why the autobahn's are mostly two lane, heavily cambered and with no hard shoulders then... I always did wonder about that.

If we ignore the issue of potholes & poor road quality, the main danger is from other drivers who are not expecting cars at that speed & do not act in a manner suitable – as they do in Germany

And at any time of day or night you can expect the muppet who sits in the mid / outer lane, who will then panic & swerve in to the fast car who is undertaking as they have not the time to brake.

<& yes I witnessed that happening at 3am>

[chef]

I recently had a Top Gear esque road trip driving in or through 7 countries in a single day (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, UK) and from that and plenty of Germany-Netherlands-Belgium-France-UK trips over the past years I would say that the British are the most annoying for not pulling over and leaving the fast lane free and without doubt the worst drivers I've come across are the Belgians with their stupidly close tailgating (even though I was doing well above the speed limit at the time and was midway in a line of traffic) and their irratic lane changing.

[BrilloPad]

as long as people use their mirrors properly

Anoyone who has cycled in central London will know that no-one looks in their mirror.

[Mich the Tester]

Anoyone who has cycled in central London will know that no-one looks in their mirror.

Not in central London, now, but generally they're OK about that in Germany. Perhaps it's the fear of being hit by a 2 ton luxury car going 250kmh that makes people look before changing lanes.

[vetran]

I must admit I wish more of these would self select for a Darwin award, replacing a crash barrier would be cheap to remove these idiots from society.

Unfortunately he would probably take some innocent family with him.

[proggy]

Proggy's reputation for making sweeping generalisations that miss the mark altogether remains intact.

When I say all speeders I mean those taking the piss i.e. double the limit.

[NotAllThere]

Done. He has always been a nasty piece of work.

I wish I'd logged in earlier - I've wanted to ban him for ages.

...All speeders should be banned for life.

So tempting...

[original PM]

interesting - we seem to be defending the hooman rights of a 23 year old unemployed man who was driving a premium car at over twice the legal limit and who when in court generally gave the uk authorities the bird.

He quite clearly has no regard for UK law or authority in general.

He is also clearly being bankrolled by a rich family or (more likely) by criminals.

I guess in this day and age of not being able to speak your mind in case you offend someone that will be fine then.

[Mich the Tester]

When I say all speeders I mean those taking the piss i.e. double the limit.

Well make that clear in the first place then; it makes all the difference between saying something sensible and saying something utterly stupid.