German vs Australian car culture

By Alborz Fallah | May 04th, 2009

I’m moving to Germany. There is no questioning it now. I can’t work out how I am going to survive in Australia when I come back, so the best option is to stay here. Let me tell you why.

I just came back from the Nurburgring, the home of modern motorsports. The track is a sight that has to be seen. M3, M3, M5, M3, Porsche GT3, GT2, GT3 RS, M3, M3 CSL, Nissan GT-R, M3, M3, McLaren SLR, F430 Scuderia, EVO IX, EVO X, STI, Lotus Exige, and all on a normal Sunday morning.

You pay about A$50 and you can do as many laps as your car can take. Depending on how good you are, each lap can take around 10 minutes, anything under that is a reasonable time.

We also met Sabine Schmidt (the Nurburgring girl – you may remember her from TopGear with the van) who was taking tourists around in the Ring-Taxis (M5). She would get it sideways around a few corners and then scream past.

The ‘ring alone is reason enough to move to Germany, but that’s just the icing on the cake. The main reason to move here is the car culture.

“Oh you’re in an M5, I’m in a Volvo. Sorry sir, let me move over and let you pass” – “Oh, you indicated left because I am going slow in the fast lane, sorry, let me move over instantly and not give you the finger as you go past”.

We even met a few car lovers, one of them invited us back to his house, where he had a collection of old but very quick BMWs.

Unlike Australia, the faster your car is in Germany, the more respect you get on the road.

Everyone from little children to grandmothers love cars. In fact while we were at ABT, we saw an old Audi S2 tuned to over 450bhp, owned by a 74-year-old grandmother, no joke. If someone can find me a 74-year-old Australian grandmother with a 450bhp+ car, I might reconsider my decision.

We drove 503km from ABT, at Kempten, to Brabham Racing, 20km away from the Nurburgring, in about three hours, and didn’t run out of fuel this time.

Anthony was competing with a Porsche Panamera whilst George and I were listening to Sunshine 106.1 (Armin Van Buuren was playing – music would be another reason to move here) and maintaining an average speed of 180km/h, in our Focus stationwagon.

I am trying to imagine the look on an Australian police officer’s face if they pulled me over for doing 180km/h in a Focus. I’d be on front page of the newspaper the next day “Idiot Hoon does 80km/h more than the speed limit”.

What about in the ABT R8? 320km/h? Can you imagine the headline? I’d be a national celebrity overnight. “Madman goes 320km/h, sentenced to five years in jail”.

Anthony came up with a good analogy, it feels like we’ve been let out of jail for a month.

Whilst I was driving the ABT tuned AS5R at a cruisy 200km/h I saw a cop in the right lane (slow lane). My instant reaction was “Oh god, ticket!”. I hit the brakes, pulled in behind him and followed at about 130km/h.

Thirty seconds later an M3 went past us at about 190km/h. The cop didn’t even look. 20 more seconds went by and and an M6 came screaming past at around 250km/h. Cop stayed still. Then I realised, oh, yes, I forgot, this is legal.

Can you believe going 250km/h past a police car on a public road can be legal? Can you imagine what an Australian police highway patrol car would do to you if you did this on an Australian highway?

It almost makes you depressed thinking about the difference in car culture. The last time I got pulled over for speeding (18km/h over) in Brisbane, the kind Cop gave me a grilling as if I was responsible for every death on the road.

Can we please bring every single person that has anything to do with setting up speed limits and transport guidelines to Germany? Just for one week?

At this point some of you are thinking, sure it may work in Germany but the autobahns are far better highways than what we have in Australia. Not entirely true.

The M1 Pacific Highway, from Brisbane to Gold Coast, for example, is actually larger than any autobahn I’ve encountered to date. Our lanes are wider and our main roads are just as smooth. So why can’t we go past 110km/h?

Is it the cars? Perhaps, but there are just as many old cars here as there are in Australia, guess what? They stay in the slow lanes, they go 110km/h, the fast cars go 250km/h+ past them, no one complains. The slow go slow, the fast go fast, everyone is happy. Why is this so hard to comprehend?

We were filming the Brabham BT92 today at the Nurburgring and just witnessing the difference in attitude to speed and cars was amazing.

At one moment whilst we were filming the ‘ring, a few German’s started playing AC/DC (Thunderstruck) and it reminded us of Bathurst, but a Ferrari F430 followed by a Porsche GT3 RS and an EVO X went past quickly, oh yes, not Bathurst.

As if the cars aren’t enough, I witnessed with my own eyes, gorgeous beautiful women standing around admiring the cars. I don’t need to die to go to heaven, I found it at the Nurburgring.

No one is doing the ‘pinky’ in Germany. The people here love cars because they love cars, no one does random burnouts in the street, when the autobahn does have a speed limit (road works for example), EVERYONE obeys.

What’s so different in our two cultures that all of this seems so strange? Why is going 320km/h a jail worthy crime in Australia and perfectly legal in Germany?

Why do people get so frightened when we go 20km/h over the speed limit in Australia?

“Slow down stupid”?. No, I don’t think so. “Learn to drive, Stupid”.

Brett

An epiphany of sorts; I love the place, always have.
Lee

What a fantastic story!!!
I agree 100% with you and can’t understand why 20kmh over the limit is just so wrong, although after witnessing an accident on the freeway near Goulburn yesterday, when an old lady pulled out from the left breakdown lane to do a U-turn in front of very heavy traffic and was surprised that she was involved in what could have been a devastating accident, I can understand why the government take the easier (and more lucrative option of ticketing “speeders”) than teaching people to drive/control a car properly and using common sense when behind the wheel!
Ever seen an old 90 S Class Mercedes stand up on its back wheels as a Lancer drives under the drivers front wheel!!!??? When the old lady climbed out of her Merc, she said “how fast was that car going?”…..um, you are doing a U-Turn on a Freeway, probably 110kmh plus…..
http://br-look.blogspot.com Nemesis

The car culture in Brazil is very similar to Germany, every one loves cars, the only difference is only 1% of people in Brazil can afford really fast cars!! The majority does away with highly modifyed 4 cylinder cars…
http://www.littlepixiegifts.com.au masynee

Yes, it is a bit of a tragedy to be a car enthusiast in Australia.

Firstly, we miss out on so many good cars from Europe, and when we do get some of them, they are ridiculously priced.

Secondly, we have an anti car culture.

All these “speed kills” campaigns so miss the point. INAPPROPRIATE speed kills. It can be perfectly safe to do 150km/h+ on the SEQ M1 while it can also be to fast to be doing 110km/h in some conditions.

Driving, by definition requires judgment by the drive. Here we dumb everything down to the lowest denominator.

It’s sad.
http://www.tuneyoursaab.com Tony

Great story Faz. Very true very factual. Here in Australia, Governments and media continue a campaign of dumbing the driving population down and actually brainwashing the great unwashed, Frankly, if the average Joe applied some commonsense driving techniques, drove to the conditions, and applied a little bit of critical thinking then the Government’s big brother attitude (not to mention the money grab) would probably be quite different. Unfortunately, Australian Governments are drug addicted (money is the drug) and many Australian drivers have trouble discriminating between fact and fiction in the speeding debate. Maybe its time to move to Germany? Enjoy the Full Throttle guys!!!
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

quote “Slow down stupid”?. No, I don’t think so. “Learn to drive, Stupid”

Here here………….

Oh and loved seeing the E30 M3s,fantastic little cars !

Thank you !
John of Perth

So who regrets winning the war!

It’s an Anglo-Saxon plot which comes with PC to boot!
JM of Victoria

“1-2km/h over the speed limit and you’ll get a ticket” – Driving in Australia, I spend too much time looking at my speedo in relation to to the time I spend looking at the road ahead.
Lukaas

Its funny…
From enthusiast(s) obviously we want to be “free” to drive faster than 100kmph.
I lived in a place where 120kmph was standard on their highways, and yes 100kpm is a so slow these days.

Do I hate speed cameras? Absolutely… I think it doesnt solve accidents…

Do I hate police focusing on speedsters?…. Im neutral these days. I think the approach is wrong.

But I DO understand why there has to be a strict regulation here. In Germany or USA, they have massive freeways/highways. 4-5 lanes. In Melbourne, Tullamarine Fwy, Western ringroad, Princes etc…. all 2-3 lanes.. narrow lanes too.

97% of the population only wants to get from A to B in a safe manner… they do not care about how much horse power, or how fast they get to 100kmph…. they really dont. They want to carry their families from point A to point B safely. They want to come home from work to their families safely also…. they dont care about their cars… or how it performs. sales of “boring” cars show that.

I for one absolutely HATE “P” platers hooning at suburban areas, also zig zagging in the freeways… I see it everyday. I WISH everyday they get taken off the road and punished and hopefully taught that speed restriction isnt to limit you from having fun… but to protect others from them when they lose control….

The article is a bit skewed… I love me fast cars, but I have a family and plenty of friends that I would no way want to be in accident due to some people breaking the rules…

You want to speed? go to a track, living in Germany won’t solve that, yes you can drive fast(er) but the highways there and the system isnt the same as here… I dont think the government will spend several billions extending highway lanes to cater for the 3-4% of the population.. you gets?
Reckless1

The German people had their fill of government authoritarianism last century, and it left a lingering, foul taste in everyone’s mouth. Most of Europe’s citizens can remember rabid police forces and secret police, and when given the chance would never allow it again.

We in Australia are fortunate to have never experienced the same degree of autocracy, but the result is we wimper and accept all the “+2km/h is deadly” bullsh!t.
http://daimler blitzkrieg

even raising our limit to 140kph/150 would be some sort of compromise between govt and motorists,not excessively fast
but better than 110.By resticting us to 110 the govt is in essence forcing us to stay on the road for longer periods of time on a trip when frustration and fatige come in to play,so really the govt is in fact endangering our lives with longer travel times.Makes a complete mockery of the govt lie of “we care we want to keep you safe”
MB

Copped a speeding fine on Friday night 121 in a 100 zone at 11.30 at night on a divided highway on a dry road….no excuse for doing the speed (never is a good one) just hit the loud pedal from an 80kmh zone turning left into a 100kmh zone the road was clear (so I thought) so I gave it a squirt and got pinged.

Funny thing is the cop was very interested in my car (C63) whihc wouldbe fair to say it alot safer then his SS Commodore.
M&M

I am not saying here I agree with the speed limit here in Australia but unfortunately I have to agree with Lukaas. Most people can’t control a car at 60km/h, and it is so clear that it is hard to imagine how they got their driver licenses. But it is the same old story…instead of investing in educating those people, it is easier (and more profitable) to impose speed limits.

The only think I disagree is “You want to speed? go to a track”…You can be sure I’d be there every weekend if I could pay the same $50 they charge in Nurburgring, instead of paying $250 for 20 min in Eastern Creek for example. Why does it have to be so expensive?
http://bent Millatime

Superb article Alborz, could you take the theme a step further while you are there, to look at the differences in obtaining a drivers licence in Germany compared to Australia?

Lukaas

Alborz addressed how similar – or better – some of our motorways are here. Also look at the number of fatalities on the German autobahns compared to our motorways, we have more, so ours are more dangerous – write to your local MP demanding change!
Kot Max

Very good article, as usual for the CarAdvice. Your website is the best among the Australian sites, dedicated to cars.
But you, dear Alborz, are absolutely right in mentioning the DIFFERENCE in German VS Australian car CULTURES.

At speeds above 140-160kmph our roads will be all graveyards for hoons and their “performance” shity cars.
Elitist

Because its simple-

1)Australia is based on the conservative no-fun British system.

2)Australians cant hold their beer and cannot be trusted with powerful cars.

3)Australia has too many immigrants that when they have some money go spastic with powerful cars and give good brands bad names… *cough Sydney Road.

4)German supermen are our masters.

You think Germany is liberal with cars…Goto Italy, the inventors of the Autobahn.
JEKYL & HYDE

if your whole world is centred around great cars,and fast public roads,when germany may be it.but in terms of lifestyle,give me aust any day.great weather,friendly faces and low living costs more than make up for ordinary cars,roads and motorists.

elitist,how about giving the italians some american gun laws,and let them sort themselves out over there,been there done that, no thanks…
Joe

“Slow down stupid”?. No, I don’t think so. “Learn to drive, Stupid”.

That right there is it. ‘Speed’ doesn’t kill. Driving outside of your abilities kills, and unfortunately the vast majority of Australians don’t have much in the way of driving abilities.

Driver training would go a long way to improving this, but as is the point of this article, ultimately the culture would have to change. Even most self proclaimed enthusiasts here don’t have the respect for high performance cars (or cars and driving in general for that matter) that is really required, let alone the average motorist.
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Elitist ,you do know Ford Australia was the inventor of the fast 4 door dont you ?

I agree with J&H do I want to give up the best lifestyle in the world to be able to drive fast……….nah life consists of more than that!
Jism

Quote from lukus
I for one absolutely HATE “P” platers hooning at suburban areas, also zig zagging in the freeways… I see it everyday. I WISH everyday they get taken off the road and punished and hopefully taught that speed restriction isnt to limit you from having fun… but to protect others from them when they lose control….

this is the mentality holding road reform back, they would be “zig zagging” to pass slower car, oblivious to other road users sitting in the fast lane 5 to 10km/h slower than the rest of the traffic.
its not like they are doing it deliberatley for entertainment in a video game, its to pass inconsiderate road users whom are more of a danger than someone doing a reasonable speed with attention to the road and other road users.

Anyhow, great article, looking for cheap flights and a visa now.
Calibre of cars over here would also be considerably greater if we werent taxed to death for buying a euro car.
i drive an fg f6, and would probably be driving a very nice audi/merc if they were similar here to the prices they are in eupore.
oneill3

Great Article!
zero

haha as i would expected..a person who has been outside of australia will think australian driving laws are every more BULLSHIT
it doesnt help prevent accidents…cant u guys effing accept the fact?ignorant fools
as i said b4 “australia is the worst place for car enthusiast”
RoFlmaTiC

““Oh you’re in an M5, I’m in a Volvo. Sorry Sir, let me move over and let you pass” – “Oh, you indicated left because I am going slow in the fast lane, sorry, let me move over instantly and not give you the finger as you go past”.”

I’ve seen this attitude in Canada, Vietnam, China and even USA! Australian’s are in a world of their own when it comes to road angst… people for some reason get angry when they are overtaken.
zero

^^comment above..
very very true..even in countries like vietnam, people still “keep left unless overtake”
i was shocked to find that aussies dont follow that at all
u wud be shiitting ur pants from the result of being tailgated if u were in other countries
Andrew

I think Australians in general just don’t value driving. It’s a right and our laid back attitude towards it means people don’t care if they hang in the right lane or forget to indicate. This is all reinforced by our governments who constantly remind us that we don’t know how to drive and really do whatever you like as long as it’s not speeding.

It’s self perpetuating the government treats us like idiots and people continue to drive like them. As mentioned in the article just drive between the Gold Coast and Brisbane on any day. It’s five lanes in some places and you’ll be guaranteed someone will be sitting in the right lane doing 10km/h below the limit.
volk613

Great article.
Driving in Aus is frustrating, in Europe Awesome.
Australia is a great place to live but don’t come to a car fan site and be surprised that people equate the driving experience with the life style. Australia is a great place to live. So are many other places. Saying something negative about one aspect of Australia doesn’t mean we hate living here.
Bavarian Missile

I hear you Volk . The positives out weigh the negatives of driving in this country,traffic problems in Australia ……what traffic ! We have the great open roads and most of those only an hour or less from some of the worlds best Cities in the world .

Zero………..you really are ! Driving in Asian Countries would have to be the worst ,China is nothing but Kaos !Keeping left for them hahaha they dont know what side that is !

Zero if you think Australia is the worst place in the world to be a car enthusiast then dont let the door hit you when you leave

You been to America ? Tried driving around London ? Just because you cant do 200 clicks legally on our roads doesnt make it a bad place to be a car lover!
MisterTwo

Great Article. Although the UK isn’t the same as Germany the speeding laws are a lot more relaxed than in Australia with a lot less deaths apportioned to population. When I first arrived in Oz we went down the Great Ocean Road and was flashed three times by cameras (two 1 pointers and a 3 pointer). And I didn’t think I was speeding (as the tickets came a week later I can’t even remember the circumstances) and I know I was driving within the road conditions, weather, traffic and the vehicle. My missus didn’t even tell me to slow down. I also noticed very early on how bad the average motorist is. Not a lot of concentration at all. In fact the other day I followed an old Corolla off the Princes Freeway at Berwick. He was indicating left to exit but the indicator stayed on even though he then turned right, continued 50 meters, realised the indicator was on, cancelled it and then moved into the left lane without indicating at all. With driving like that the country has no hope of higher speed limits. I do agree that perhaps the auto cancel on the Corollas indicaters were broken but still he could have cancelled himself. No concentration at all.
zero

yea ive been to both the states and London
and guess what..at least they stay to our left(which is their right) and uk as well..the truck drivers over there will wait till u flash as a permission for them to merge into ur lane after a overtake.
wbu where have u been huh
Yanzo

nice story. i love this part ***Why do people get so frightened when we go 20km/h over the speed limit in Australia?

“Slow down stupid”?. No, I don’t think so. “Learn to drive, Stupid”***

2 lanes and thought i’d do 50 in a 80 zone and there’s no other cars around except for this red p plater. i wanted to see if he would take over or stay behind me. and what do you know, he stayed behind me when he could have overtaken. at the red lights he gave me the finger, i laughed. drivers need more confidence these days.
RoFlmaTiC

You just wanted to street race him Yanzo don’t lie
zero

lol,talking about the “finger”
it was in 1 of those local newspaper in the “bummer” section
where an australian was caught giving a finger in UAE, he was a nurse working abroad..and guess what, bad day for him…the gentleman he gave finger to was a government official/royalty or some sort..he got fined and jailed i think
serve him rightt
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

As I said Zero you dont like Australia and think its the worst place in the world to be a car enthusisat then dont let the door hit you when you leave !

I wouldnt have bought up London and the States if I havent been there .You make it sound that the UK is sooooo civilized to drive around compared to Australia,not when Ive been there.The drive up to Birmingham from London shows just as many idiots as you will find on our road here .I have a good friend that commutes to London daily for work ,hates it !

Poor bloke got stuck in jail for giving the bird………..yeah that sounds like the place to be !

Mate why do you live here ,you hate our cars and our drivers !
zero

believe me when i say i wont

“I agree with J&H do I want to give up the best lifestyle in the world to be able to drive fast……….nah life consists of more than that! ”

i wouldn’t go to the point of saying, the “BEST”
as u know this is car enthusiast/forum and car is part of our life
it’s not about driving fast, its about the culture as stated
i look up to ur patriotism..but being too blindly is not too good=P
Ziro

Oh c’mon, if Australia produces just as many cars that are just as good, and that everybody can afford, you would find equally fascinating car culture here too! If I and my neighbours and the 74 year-old grandma down the street were able to afford an Audi S2 tuned to over 450bhp, I betcha we would have our own Ring right here!
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Your understanding of Australia’s Car culture, lifestyle and the English language is getting lost in translation I think mate
Tom

mate, i can’t remember how many times i’ve been behind an absolute wanker on the highway doing 80 in a 110 zone, and having to ride the brakes and be extra cautious becuase num nuts thinks driving like a fool is safer.

Nothing worse than having to underdrive as you are totally focused on not crashing into the rear of the idot who is driving below the speeds of what the conditions dictate. Same goes for idiots on public roads doing 40 ina 60 zone, don’t know how many times i’ve almost had an accident having to ride the brakes because i had no clue what the idiot would do next.
zero

oh pls forgive me..i dint really go through what i was writing:P
was just typing what i was thinking

what do u not understand?
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Speaking of Australian Car Culture ,when will we get to see Matt Brogans Monaro that he just got back on the site. You promised me this week Matt,there is more to just di*khead drivers on our roads that make up our great Car Culture !

Oh and lights on high beam behind a right-hand lane hog left foot on the clutch and a big rev normally wakes the tools up Tom
zero

guess what u will get next from him…not only he won’t move away, u would probably get the finger from him
hahah
Phill

For the size of our population,Australia is lucky we have our own unique car culture,hope it never dies,or we will be pushed it small FWDs,screw that.
Phill

pushed into small FWDs
Phill

German car culture is awsome.Fast cars,Fast freeways,top line race tracks.More people and more money = more choice of cars.
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

mmmmmm Zero that depends what your in and how loud you can be ….seem to move over for me ! Maybe its what YOU drive ,isnt it scary enough hahahaha
http://bent Millatime

Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

“The positives out weigh the negatives of driving in this country,traffic problems in Australia ……what traffic !”

Maybe there’s no traffic in the wild wild west, but try driving across town in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane at any time even near peak hour! Pure brain numbing torture – and that’s even when the genius’ don’t crash into each other..
zero

lol.
“Maybe there’s no traffic in the wild wild west”
hahaha
yea missile..kinda biased arent you
get real
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

F*ck off Zero you’re really pissing me off with little retorts!

Millatime,Im not from WA babe originally,Ive driven around Sydney and Melbourne nothing compared to LA or London . A big blown yellow XA GT Coupe in your mirror would surprise you too with a big bang of the throttle hehehe The BF Cobra and the Blood Orange BA GT also were noticeable but the little M3 with its lights on high beam and little blips of the throttle back and forwards towards them moves them over,especially up hills
fasthonda

Just heard on the news,that the Victorian State Government has increased the current 3,000hrs of mobile speed camera operation to 7,000hrs in the upcoming budget.
I thought vampires were a myth but they exist,you can see them sucking the very life blood of the Victorian motorist!
Neo Utopia

German drivers can appreciate fun driving whilst being reasonably considerate to other drivers (except for this person: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRGmtObqKeo), they are also more interested in genuinely good fast cars. People in Germany have fun getting drunk in beer halls whilst generally not becoming public a nuisence or liability. They are also more civilized during and after football (soccer) matches. Thats what I noticed anyway whilst living in the country for about a year.

The questions are can Australians be similar or are Australian already similar to these more civilised charactoristics?
http://bent Millatime

Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Let me see if I’ve got this right. A big blown yellow XA GT Coupe, BF Cobra and the Blood Orange BA GT, & the little M3. You are a petrol (rev) head with exquisite taste in fast Fords, and apparantly have a great cleavage, judging from your name…

I only have one question, really, just one very serious question in a quest for perfection…

…any chance you look like Angelina Jolie?!?
Bret

Millatime, in the past has admitted to “Double D” cup holders?
Mega

I’d really love to see the M1 between Brisbane and Gold Coast to be uprated to 140ish (or more in the far-right lane). It is such a loooong straight drive with plenty of lanes. The road certainly could handle it, but it is our childish, conservative demonising of speed used as political leverage that prevents this from occurring.

Us like-minded motorists should band together to have our voices heard.
Bret

Mega, really? I thought that it’s such a short drive why bother. Queenslanders are too stupid on the road to have an elevated speed limit.

Last year they had a reduced speedlimit through some roadworks on one of the exit roads, cop with a laser gun, flashing red/blue lights, no shortage of willing customers, day after day. Slow learners these Queenslanders.
Idiots who speed through raodworks deserve all they get.
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

hahaha Bret you pop up when needed dont you

Millatime , Cougar babe, Angelina is a MILF in training hehehe.

I did have pics on the CA forum of the cars ,they updated it all and all got lost.I went over to Facebook and chatted with CA guys over there ,you can see I made a comment on this thread over there,to see more youll have to be a facebook friend and become one of mine Would love to catch up over there with you ……cheers Lisa…

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CarAdvicecomau/23632716504#/album.php?aid=73471&id=23632716504&ref=mf
Tek

Another top article. I drove around Germany, Netherlands and France a few years ago and found driving there awesome. When there are no speed limits it _forces_ you to concentrate when driving unlike Australia where people get into their cars and switch into zombie mode.
Kappa

Nice read, great choice in music though.
http://bent Millatime

Bret

God bless lovely big cup holders, imagine how terrible life would be without them…
http://bent Millatime

Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

I’m a late adopter, ie am not yet on facebook, but I’ll remedy that and catch up, about those wonderful Fords, did you ever have an XC Cobra?

If I could take home an XC Cobra “Bathurst” with the 4 speed 351 and the extra scoop on the bonnet, or Angelina Jolie, what would I choose??? Oh the heartbreak of seeing Angelina standing sobbing on the street corner as she get’s smaller in the rear view mirror…!
Zobie

In Germany’s favour.
Pedestrian zones in all towns.
Bike paths and no helmet rule.
Fewer speed cameras.
Fair or non-existent speed limits.
Manual transmission.
Superior service station food.

In Australia’s favour.
Unsealed roads.
Cricket on the radio.
Lower fines and overtaking on either side.
No salt on the road (no ice) and lax/no roadworthy tests.
No intercity traffic jams.
Simpler driving test.
Cupid Stunt

Ooooh how I love driving in Europe. Much more fun. I’ve often driven 8-900k’s in a day and seen no police at all. Love it.
Prefer Australian weather, life style though. (He said trying to make up)!!!

Car Fanatic

I agree, I moved back here for the weather, and even though the UK has speed limits similar to our own, the motorways, in particular the M23 is a great road to speed along, not get caught and not endanger any other drivers. Now I’m back in Oz I do stick to the speed limit, but find it frustrating because our drivers are so crap and our cops are a bit over the top.

There is such a thing as safe speeding, Germany is proof of this, we just need to be more sensible on the road, more courteous and have some roads designated higher speed limits.

Great Article.

Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Cool Millatime,you know where to find me then. Not a 351 version the poverty 302 ……….still looked the part though! So cars and women,in that order……… sounds very Australian

Cupid …..nice recovery.
Maneesh

Germany is the world’s great hope. I also hear that in the Middle East (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and others) there is no speed limit on freeways.

The East-Link tollway in Melbourne has 6 lanes all the way through. It was recently built. The surface is good. We must abolish the speed limit on the right most lane when the weather is dry. If its raining, bring it down to 150km/h.

We MUST TALK TO THE LIBERAL PARTY ABOUT THIS and MAKE IT AN ELECTION PROMISE!
Grammar Nazi

“Speed doesn’t kill – rapidly deccelerating to zero kills…”
fishman

Agreed there are plenty of bad drivers in the UK, but when I moved to Oz a few year ago I couldn’t believe how bad the standard of driving was – sooooo many drivers don’t understand how a roundabout works, hog the right lane for no reason, and have very poor all round road awareness.

So, it’s no surprise the laws are dumbed down to accomodate all the cr@p drivers.

One final comment on speed – I’m all for restrictions & cameras in urban areas where EVERYBODYS safety is at stake, but the use of them on freeways is just a revenue raising exercise….
Confused

Most of you guys, AlborZ included, seem to be teenage, always-look-for-adventure, guys.
1. The Autobahn in Germany are far better built than most motorways and highways in Australia. You cannot comment just by seeing ‘oh the road looks shiny and black enough’. The design of the road here is far below quality. You have to know the turning and inclination, frictional quality of the tar used, and so on. And look, it is only limited number of roads in germany where you have no speed limit. Other roads, just like ours.
2. Majority of cars here are not built for that sort of speed. If you have less than 0.2 % of the cars capable of dafely cruising >130 Km/hr, it’s just too dangerous for those cars to fly right and left of the slower cars.
3. It costs much more and it is far more environment detrimental to drive a performance car just for the sake of fulfilling mad desires. You have race tracks to do it as sports. Speeding as a need is never justified.
4. Those who are whinging for being fined for speeding 2+ k over the limit …. well, any figure will have a cutoff limit. Sure, the government has lucrative revenue out of these fines – and perhaps the speed limit is one of their revenue fronts, but there are good reasons why we should be restrained.

There are too many other reasons
The Original Tom

Alborz, I totally sympathise. When I returned from Europe (particularly Germany) it took me weeks to recover.

The stupidity of our overtaking rules (not allowed to overtake over the limit at all), the lack of proper road infrastructure (too many winding, single-lane highways), the ridiculous speed limits (some smooth, dual-carriageway roads are sign-posted much slower than some of our most dangerous roads) and the lack of general courtesy from our drivers was infuriating for a long time.

I managed to suppress the anger and frustration, eventually.

Now, however, re-living my trip vicariously, I feel the frustration returning.

It is a sweet memory tainted by the harsh reality of our anti-car culture.
John

Its all about maturity, a teenager at 16 can go into a pub in Germany and order a beer. They don`t have the same binge drinking problem. Train and teach people instead of dumbing them down by enforcing stupid laws.
There is a fairly intensive driver training process involved in getting your licence, a drivers licence is a privilege, not a right.
In Australia, instead of training the drivers properly, we make laws to cover everyone and treat them like idiots. Maybe not everyone should have a licence and people need to be trained and act as skilled drivers. Too many drivers aren`t competent enough or respect other drivers enough to drive at any speed.
Driving in Australia is better overall, the traffic congestion hasn`t ruined it yet.
Robocop

A lot of comments on this story. An interesting topic.

Having lived in Sweden for a few years, I definitely noticed a difference with the licencing procedures which is a large contributing factor to the traust police have in drivers.

Getting your licence over there really is getting a certification that you can actually drive (not just permission to do so, like here). The theory AND practice tests include everything from ice-driving tests, slide control, and high speed avoidance maneouvers before a licence is issued. Not just reverse parking. (which my gf, despite having passed her licence, still cannot do).
Shak

Its because Astralia is so bckwards when it comes to education. I just got my L’s and the only education i got was a book that tells me to “SLOW DOWN”. Come on, i drove at 80kmh on the M7 2day and it felt like i was going backwards.
The Realist

In Australia the government would rather utilise their police force for revenue raising than cleaning up drunken idiots who are taking a pi$$ in open daylight in a bus stand.

Don’t believe this happens in Oz? Take a walk down Murray street in Perth on a Sunday morning. Being a Sydneysider I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And these aren’t one offs – it’s almost every weekend.

Some of you talk about lifestyle being great here in Oz – yet it’s strange how the Aussie diaspora (consisting of predominantly high income well educated Aussies) was increasing yearly, until the downturn…
Neo Utopia

I have a conspiracy theory that the main roads department in Queensland poorly design and maintain roads to cause drivers to become increasingly frustrated and more likely to disobey roads rules and therefore provide more revenue for the police department to become an evermore comunist and controling department.
ash

We have speed limits in Saudi Arabia

but we still drive like it’s Germany, cuz it’s the right way to drive xD

accidents happen cuz of stupid driving, not fast driving

I drive +200kmph everyday, and I even got clocked doing +250kmph …. the cop didn’t bother to try to follow ;P
http://www.eq.com.au Marc Altshuler

Would someone please Knight the writer of this article?

I drive a Gold R32 and am frustrated that I have to be labeled a criminal if I want to drive it even mildly spirited.
Mitch

What a perfect article. I had the pleasure of living in Germany for a year and regularly marveled at how well drivers behaved, courteous and skilled they were in all aspects of driving. Unfortunately, raising speed limits in OZ would lead to great carnage unless there was a mass education and retraining program. I was so depressed upon coming home that I sold my sports car(s), super bike etc. and replaced them with a jet ski which I can still use (for now)in an non speed limited environment.
Stefan

first i have to say im from germany and drive the autobahn almost every day.

i have to disagree a bit with your article. i dont know where you have been, but the car culture you’re talking about we had maybe 10-20 years ago. sure there are a few enthusiasts, but the majority pf people is now entirely focused on fuel economy and carbon footprint. havent you noticed, that there are almost only small or very small cars on tge road that can barely hit 120kmh?

its kind of sad that we live here with a speed-limit-free autobahn but noone seems to be interested in cars anymore. i predict that we have a speedlimit here in less than 7 years, especially if germans continue to buy small crappy cars.

Anyways, its still fun to drive as fast as you want here and i hope you had a good time.

Stefan
Left Lane Lover

Whoah there,whats this about educating Queensland drivers,please dont try to get that happening.
I drive between Brisbane and the gold coast in the left lane,some times giving quizzical looks to the lovely masses in the right lanes.I usually have MY lane all to myself.Occasionaly there may be another car or two there,so then I have to indicate,use my mirrors,look over my shoulder and then move my steering wheel so as to use the second lane,what a pain,this uses up too much energy.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOH thats why everyone else uses those other two lanes to the right,because they’re lazy effin cooonts.

When I grow up I will buy a monster truck and squash all of those cooonts in the right lanes.
Peace and love L.L.L.
Left Lane Lover

What’s with semi drivers staying in the 3rd lane for the whole journey ?
For gods sake when are the cops going to start doing something about the real menace’s on OUR roads.
All comercial vehicles should have contact numbers displayed.
All professional drivers should be given double fines if and when the cops start to police OUR roads properly.Maybe the message will get through then.To all drivers who’s job it is to drive,for all our sakes can you please learn and adhere to the rules that are set out for your job.
Plenty of unmarked cop cars around the M1 these days,stop picking on the wrong type of driver,just because its easier than pulling over the real problem drivers.
Saw a cop in 1 of those colourful red commodores last week talking on his mobile whilst speeding in the outside lane,I should have done a citizens arrest on him.
I got told by a policeman just south of Brisbane once ( after he had pulled me for tailgating a wall of 3 cars in all 3 lanes )that “anyone can drive at whatever speed they like in any lane ”
Gives one faith in the law doesn’t it.
A few years ago the outgoing cop in the UK that had been responsible for introducing speed cameras admitted that it was a huge mistake.
Alienating every car owner is a silly thing to do.
Hans

I am from Germany and i read your interesting article. It is astonishing to see how people from other countries experience our great highways. Im not really proud of my country, but i promise you i know how to appreciate the Autobahn. I couldnt really imagine to live in a country with no no-speed-limit.

Have a nice evening *highbeam*
JDG

The problem, here in America, is that it is far too easy to obtain driving privileges. In Germany, people are taught to drive before strapping themselves into 2 tons of glass and steel.

Hans

Thats completely true! One really has to bear your point in mind.

As i said, i couldnt imagine living in a country without deristricted highways, but i couldnt imagine to live in a country with people who did not learn proper driving allowed driving on highways, either.

So i think proper driving is the main assumption.

Greeting from Germany,

Hans

http://sis.com S,I,S,

S,A,R
Clarity

Dear “Confused”

1. Australian motorways vs german. Yes you are right to some extent but it is a chicken and egg problem. If the original design spec of the highway is always 110k/h then that’s all they will build it to. Australia needs to get out of the stone age and start building mega highways spec’d to 250k/h. This is what Germany did with the Autobahn network 70 years ago, and look what it has done for their car industry

2. Cars are not built for that speed? Are you an automotive engineer? Modern cars are more than capable of cruising at 130k/hr (if they weren’t they would fall apart just from normal everyday slow driving!) The point people are trying to make here is driver maturity and knowing your car. If you were to drive at an obviously excessive speed for your car and conditions on an unrestricted highway, cops would have every right to pull you over and fine you massively. This is the difference in paradigms. People think it is just about the car, but it is more about the driver than the car. As technology improves, the safety, speed, power and reliability of cars increases. Cars today are so much more powerful, more safe, stop and turn incredibly well compared to 50 years ago yet people still manage to crash them at the same rate even though the speed limits have not changed in those 50 years!

3. Speeding is never justified? In a place like Australia where there are massive massive distances to cover, high speeds are justified. Taking twice as long to cover a distance at a crawling pace causes driver fatigue, which can have fatal consequences. Australia needs an interstate unrestricted megahighway system (the Australian autobahn!) We need to push the limits of road and car design for technology to continuously improve, currently we are nearly going backwards. Northern Territory was a good example of unrestricted highways working effectively in Australia. Despite being a less than ideal network, two lane highways with huge road trains everywhere, it worked. Drivers maintained their own speed, were curteous to others and covered the massive distances in an efficient time. Recently NT caved in to the beurocracy and implemented a 130k/h limit

4. You should catch the train, your thinking disqualifies you from driving a car.

Car fanatic

LOL, point four is way to relevant to many drivers, I applaud your post for ingenuity and entertainment.

http://motorcarenthusiast.com/blog Kevin

Wow great story. Australia sounds a lot like America as far as traffic laws are concerned.
matt

In fact while we were at ABT, we saw an old Audi S2 tuned to over 450bhp, owned by a 74-year-old grandmother, no joke”

LOL, LOL, and LOL again.
Brandon

“Learn to drive, Stupid”

Key point of the whole article and you fail to even mention it. In Germany, getting your licence is a costly and difficult procedure where you must actually know how to drive (?!) to obtain a licence. therefor getting your licence is a serious privilege. here it is all too easy to get your licence and is seen as a ‘right’.
stephen

As a German living in the US, I can say that the car culture in Germany is very unique when compared with the rest of the world. For example, in Germany, you have to be 18 to get a driver’s license, it costs you an arm and a leg, and you have to go out with a driving instructor who teaches you how to drive safely at those speeds. They didn’t just one day decide to raise the speed limits. Each time you take the driving test, it costs you an arm and a leg, and there is a maximum number of times you are allowed to take the test. Another thing, the number of lanes is not the deciding factor in how fast you can drive on a highway. The autobahn is a minimum of 1 meter thick, has a maximum 6% grade, and it is a very serious crime to drive in the left lane. Road crews also only have 24 hours to fix any potholes in the roads, you do not see the same potholes for years at a time – hitting one of those at 300km/h can kill a lot of people. I enjoyed your article, but you ignored the most important part of driving in Germany – safety.