Interesting how much stiffer the penalties are in Britain for speeding. In Ontario, they just made the penalties more severe than they were, but they're still relatively speaking, a walk in the park:
Cars will automatically be impounded for 7 days, driver's licenses are suspended for a week, and a minimum fine of $2,000 is imposed for anyone caught driving 50 km over the posted speed limit.
The penalties are mostly financial - because you also lose points on your driving record, which tends to cost big time on the insurance.
Meanwhile, in Germany, from my own experience this summer, 150-160 kph on the Autobahn is pretty normal under good driving conditions in the areas where speed is not restricted - despite the "advisory" limit of 130 kph - which it seemed very few heeded. It is not enforced - just suggested, unless you get into an accident, in which case you may find a high rate of speed will factor into who is assigned blame. We had rented a Mercedes C220 CDI, and even at 150-160, we got passed regularly. The car was perfectly capable of going faster, but I wasn't especially comfortable driving any faster, not being used to it! Of course, the road itself is stupendous - beautifully maintained, not a bump or pothole in sight and with curves designed for high rates of speed. Of course, if you DO have an accident at those speeds, it may be game over...there is only so much an airbag and seatbelts can do. We did find German drivers generally very courteous and they truly expect everyone else to behave themselves as well. Passing on the right - a very common occurrence on this side of the pond (partially due to the fact that so many nitwits think the MIDDLE lane of a 3-lane highway is the "slow" lane) is absolutely verboten in Germany.
Depending on which source you choose, the rate of fatalities on US interstates may actually be greater than it is on the Autobahn, so the old "speed kills" slogan obviously isn't quite truthful. However, given the deplorable state of US and Canadian roads compared to those in Germany, "speed kills on badly designed and maintained roads" might be a bit more apropos.
QUOTE
Accident rates
Despite the prevailing high speeds, the accident, injury and death rates on the Autobahn are remarkably low. The Autobahn carries about a third of all Germany's traffic, but injury accidents on the Autobahn account for only 6% of such accidents nationwide and less than 12% of all traffic fatalities were the result of Autobahn crashes (2004). In fact, the annual fatality rate (3.2 per billion km in 2004) is consistently lower than that of most other superhighway systems, including the US Interstates (5.0 in 2003)
http://gettingaroundgermany.home.att.net/autobahn.htmhttp://www.sense.bc.ca/news/news-02.htmAs for the situation in Canada - given the drivers (some are awful), and the design and condition of the roads, tougher penalties may improve things. There have been several recent cases of completely innocent people being mowed down by people engaging in street racing.
