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Old 05-November-2007, 05:32 PM
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Default Metric is a crime

No, not my opinion...I love metric.

But, this judge in Ireland...
Irish judge rules speeding not ‘as bad’ in miles

Quote:
McLoughlin was quoted as saying the speed seemed “very excessive,” but did not look “as bad” when converted into miles. He lowered the charge from to driving carelessly, and fined him 1,000 euros ($1,450); if convicted of the tougher charge of driving dangerously, Clarke would have lost his license.
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Old 05-November-2007, 05:52 PM
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I need to move to Ireland!
Considering my driving record...
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Old 05-November-2007, 06:44 PM
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No, better not. 1000€ is still a lot of money.
I could speed as fast as I wanted, I would never have to pay that much money here.
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Old 05-November-2007, 06:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Laguna2 View Post
No, better not. 1000€ is still a lot of money.
I could speed as fast as I wanted, I would never have to pay that much money here.
Autobahn.

It's pretty amusing when you are zipping along at 120 mph, sterring wheel is vibrating in your hands...

And then a Yugo flies by you like you're an old lady
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Old 05-November-2007, 07:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neverfly View Post
Autobahn. It's pretty amusing when you are zipping along at 120 mph, steering wheel is vibrating in your hands... And then a Yugo flies by you like you're an old lady.
A Yugo doing 200 km/hr? Now that's something I'd like to see -- from a safe distance!

I wonder if the judge in the speeding case ever played in a rock band -- one with amplifiers that went up to eleven?
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Old 05-November-2007, 08:34 PM
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The Isle of man is best. No speed limits and on 'Mad Sunday' at the start of TT Week, the roads used for the Senior TT are closed to oncoming traffic and you can use the full width just like you were in the Trial yourself. They do have an offence of 'Driving Furiously' though. I would love that on my licence as an endorsement lol.
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Old 05-November-2007, 08:51 PM
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I favor the other interpretation. In kilograms I feel positively svelte.

In stone, I feel starved.
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Old 05-November-2007, 09:24 PM
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A Yugo couldn't go 120mph down a mountain with a hurricane behind it.
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Old 05-November-2007, 10:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestial Mechanic View Post
A Yugo doing 200 km/hr? Now that's something I'd like to see -- from a safe distance!
I have this image of another Star Trek time travel bit where Kirk and Scotty come back to the present time. They have to get somewhere fast, and the only vehicle available is a Yugo. Kirk's driving, pushing the car far beyond what is sanely reasonable. Scotty has performed his usual magic to get the car to do more than should be possible, but is yelling from the passenger seat, "SHE CANNAE TAKE NAE MOH'RE, CAP'N!"

That's when the car explodes.
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Old 06-November-2007, 02:17 AM
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Originally Posted by NEOWatcher View Post
No, not my opinion...I love metric.

But, this judge in Ireland...
Irish judge rules speeding not ‘as bad’ in miles
That's pretty cool. Maybe they could measure speed in leagues, and then we could go even faster!

Judge, I was only going 2 leagues a minute. Give me a break!
OK, that sounds reasonable. I'll let you off this time.
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Old 06-November-2007, 07:58 AM
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Sure, a 200km/h Yugo.
If you put in a decent engine maybe.
But usually it competes with my lawn mower.
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Old 06-November-2007, 08:27 AM
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Yeah...



I did say it was amusing...
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Old 06-November-2007, 10:33 AM
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Speaking of feeling like an old lady...
Two weeks ago I went from Frankfurt to Munich using the Autobahn 9.
Brand new, three lanes, mostly straight. So I took, what my Audi gave me.
Then it happened. While starting going up a hill, the new ICE3 overtook me at full speed. When I got over the hill I saw it vanish near the horizon.
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Old 06-November-2007, 02:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Laguna2 View Post
No, better not. 1000€ is still a lot of money.
I could speed as fast as I wanted, I would never have to pay that much money here.
--- Therefore they treat you like a criminal. Speeding comes directly after drunk driving but before rape. If you are 40 km to fast you get triple punished. You pay some 150 Euro, loose your license for 4 weeks AND you get points. (18 points you loose your license completely for at least 12 months (or so). You have to make it new, but only if you can proof you are "no danger to public". You have to pass a psychological test and stuff. Including the license this may cost you 5000,- to 8000,- euro)
I did 40.000 km in the last 9 months. The problem on Autobahn is there is only "in principle" no speed limit. In fact about 60 % has local speed limit. There you have the problem. You go on a road where you are allowed to drive 200 km/h and suddenly a sign says 130. Good if you see it. Or worse you have a sign saying 130, repeated for 10 km. Than suddenly there is one which says 100. Again, lucky if you realise it.
I am very aware of speed limits because I need my license. I collected 4 points on that 40.000 km. which makes 1 per 10.000 km. Which in turn means I will loose my license in 140.000 km . That is about 3 years. Looks inevitable.

sorry for the long post, but Germany is not the paradise of fast driving!
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Last edited by AndreH; 06-November-2007 at 02:51 PM. Reason: typos
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Old 06-November-2007, 03:16 PM
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I like driving in Germany, but the biggest reason is that everyone drives safely. In 15000 kilometers I only saw two accidents. The first was a car pulled out in front of a scooter around a blind corner. The second was on the Autobahn. Since most of my miles travelled were on a motorcycle I was very glad to see people driving so safely.
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Old 06-November-2007, 06:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreH View Post
sorry for the long post, but Germany is not the paradise of fast driving!
But at least you do not risk ending up in prison and ruined for your life.
Get a porsche, step your foot on the accelerator and try it in Switzerland.
Have fun selling the car to pay the fine and I hope you like the prison food...

Oh and by the way, in Germany no judge will send you directly to a MPU (medical psycological test) for speeding once. You would have to do it repeatedly or in combination with drugs/alcohol.
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