Traffic is Heavy So Hold My Chilli Dog While I Answer this Text Message



German Autobahn "NO SPEED LIMIT" Sign



A friend of mine is making a return visit to Germany right now. On his first visit he rented a Mercedes Benz to try out on the autobahn. He said he had it up to 130 when he got passed by a Lamborghini going, by his estimate, 160 mph. According to my friend, they do not ticket you for speeding on the autobahn. What they do ticket you for is passing and then not moving immediately over to the non-passing lane when you are beyond the other vehicle.

Would that be great or what? Missouri interstates are clogged by H.H.C. (human highway cholesterol): drivers that clog the highway arteries and prevent the free flow of traffic. They drive 65 mph in the passing lane and take the better part of a three-day weekend to get by a string of eighteen-wheelers.  Or an 18-wheeler trying to pass another 18-wheeler on a hill, gaining 6 inches on it every quarter-mile while traffic stacks up in both lanes behind them.

OR, even worse, drivers who drive in the passing lane even if they only thing they are passing is time.  While we may be amazed at the speeds on the autobahn, what amazes Germans is that Americans eat, drink, talk and send texts on their cell phone and fiddle with the radio station - maybe all at the same time - while attempting to drive. Driving is serious business to them.

I've eaten my share of burgers behind the wheel, but I would give them up in a heartbeat to have Missouri autobahns between KC and St. Louis and St. Louis and Springfield. Speed limit: 85 mph with zero tolerance for speeders and a 70 mph minimum. No 18-wheelers or RV's allowed. Make it a toll road. I'll pay with a smile.

All others use I-70 and I-44.   And bring your lunch.