MattyG

Public roads aren't for personal speed thrills and jollies. There's reasonableness in speeds which police will overlook and there's outright criminal. A judge is going to weigh what a reasonable person would be doing in this instance at that time of the night on the QEW, and what this driver did.

Don't like the speed limits? Want a German autobahn system implimented? Get your fellow speed freaks elected to Congress.

RNM GS3

Speed limits are fine in local neighbourhoods, near schools etc.

But on a highway especially one with long open stretches its asinine to have 50-55mph limit where 100% of drivers go above it. Make it 100mph at least.
Cars have never been more powerful or safer yet the road rules are not updated to reflect this neither is training for drivers test.

Congress or local government is a joke and only motivated by revenue hence they will never get rid of speed traps/cameras etc.

riredale

I'm fascinated that different cultures do things differently because, well, just because. You can pump your own gasoline everywhere, but don't you dare try it in Oregon. It's illegal. Why? Because. No, really, why? Because.

So here in Oregon the I-5 speed limit is 65 but most go 75. I think in Texas it's 75 and everyone goes 85.

Over in Germany on an autobahn many years ago I was passing a truck and noticed in my rear-view mirror a car far behind me flashing his high beams. I passed the truck, got back into the right lane, and within seconds a big Mercedes whooshed by in the left lane, probably doing at least 120 mph. In that country folks get really upset if you hog the left lane.

I should also mention that we saw two major incidents along the side of the autobahn while we were there for a week. One car totally upside-down in the grass alongside the road, and another car (unrelated incident) that was about two feet shorter after hitting something solid.

And the Autobahn is not "anything goes," especially these days. I imagine they would come down hard on you if you pulled a 191 mph stunt there.

mmarshall

I'd say that coming to a full on a stop sign, and coming to a stop before a right-turn on red (both of which are legally required) are broken just as much, if not more, than speeding. Many drivers to only do not come to a full stop, but just lightly tap their brakes if that.

Another law that is probably broken just as much or more than speeding is hand-held-cell-phone-use while driving.

Stroock639

i don't think it ever was 'anything goes' there are restricted and de-restricted sections of it, and on a de-restricted section 191 mph really isn't much of a stunt (assuming there's not just too much traffic to even get up to that speed)

also there is no singular 'the autobahn', autobahns are just what the highways are called and in more rural areas of them you'll find the de-restricted zones

Stroock639

well once you slow down to a certain point there's no more safety to be gained by coming to a full stop, if anything you might be increasing danger since nobody actually expects the person in front to come to a full stop, might be on there phone and continue thinking the person has driven away already... if one actually feels they need to come to a complete stop to be safe i don't feel comfortable sharing the road with that person

phones are definitely bad but most phone induced accidents are low speed type stuff, unless the person was trying to record something i haven't seen many high speed accidents caused from being on the phone

the most broken (and arguably dangerous) law is keeping out of the left lane except to pass, and it's probably the biggest reason why we can't safely have higher interstate speed limits

Stroock639

i'd say that's probably more dangerous than what he did

Lwerewolf

300kph:

Parts of the autobahn are unrestricted, but that's not always - you'd better watch the electronic speed limit signs. In addition, drivers are used to this and watch their mirrors. You can still notice things at 300+kph, but the car won't stop as fast as you think it will - you'd better gave good visibility and be ready to jump on the brakes. That + the (criminally stupid, IMO) 100/110KPH limits there (edit: there = Canada) + night time + apparently traffic... I mean speed traps are always set at places where everybody ****ing speeds due to stupidly low limits and at peak traffic times, but that doesn't mean that you should try blasting in the off-hours without due care.

At any rate, we don't know the full details.

MattyG

From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Not even a full licence and carrying an attitude of entitlement because he had a fast car. Seems like a mentality that the car brings out in some of these drivers.

Stroock639

have you driven one of these? they're unbelievably confidence inspiring at high speeds

it's almost like they're designed to do it in total safety...

MattyG

Of course they are. These are fantastic cars. But lets get back to the facts here:

Fact: the speed limit on the QEW at this location is not 308 km/hr.

Fact: the officer who stopped this teen reports that he didn't have a full licence and that this driver had participated in track racing which factors into judgement and motivations.

Fact: It was night time which means limited visibility. Do you see high speed NASCAR oval track racing at night on unlit tracks?

Fact: There is absolutely no excuse for travelling at this speed on a public highway.

And yes, I know about fast cars - drove quite a few. Just not AMG, doesn't mean I need to do that on a highway.

mmarshall

Stroock, no offense, but I think you would be wise to listen to what Matty is trying to tell you. He's got the law, common sense, and the laws of physics on his side.

Stroock639

i think it does mean you need to do that, as the needle passes 120 you'll start to become annoyed and ask yourself 'why is this so illegal!?'

MattyG

Lol. Yes I know about that needle crossing 120 mph. Been there done that. But at some point I ask myself, when the needle approaches 200 mph, what risk does this vehicle and its driver pose to the community. I love the E55 that you own from that era. Its style and drivertrain - timeless. It's a beast and there is something visceral about such cars.

But a saner more mature driver also knows about responsibility, community and context. You do know that once you cross such community standards, you will be someone who is an outlier? The motorists who likely reported this outrageous and egregious act of speeding honked their horns in appreciation of the traffic police who stopped him. Does that clue you in about what public roads are about? Shared responsibility?

Would you feel the same way if you wiped out a family in their minivan while you enjoyed the wonderful sense of speed in your E55? You can't predict what's ahead of you at that speed, especially at night.

RNM GS3

Have you drive a modern performance car over 100mph on a track or open Safe roads obviously.

Honestly the things my car (M3) can do leaves me in awe sometimes. It makes you feel in such control its hard to describe. With these cars - I would argue they only come alive at over 100mph. At 50-60, you might as well be driving a Camry. The capability of these cars are on another level but as with anything else proper training is required. I encourage everyone to do performance driving school with professional drivers. Lexus had a great program even as of last year I believe so do BMW, Porsche etc.