Oh, and don't forget this gem...

Driving on a two lane autobahn with a line of trucks driving in the right hand lane (and I do mean a LINE of trucks) driving well under the speed of traffic, when the truck in the back decides to pass the entire line of trucks. Oh, and while passing them, he goes about 1-2 km/h faster than the trucks that he is trying to pass.

I've found the situation you describe depressingly common, etch5895. There are some stretches of Autobahn with signs indicating that trucks cannot pass, but they don't always seem to be observed. Maybe the rules are such that if a truck begins passing before reaching the sign they can continue (since there is no gap in the right lane they can enter).

The situation has led me to think more than once that in many parts of the country, for the system to function well, an Autobahn really needs at least 3 lanes.

I can't vouch for every state in the US - but I live in Florida - and if I hurt anyone anywhere in the world - that person can sue me here where I live. The court has jurisdiction. Might not be worth it for a little injury - but if there's a serious injury - or death - that's another matter. I agree about the conflict of laws issue - but you're assuming there are laws limiting the dollar amount of recovery for specific injuries or deaths. I am not familiar with the laws of most countries outside the US - but I would tend to doubt that most have laws which say the most you can recover if you lose your leg is X. So it's pretty much up to a jury to decide what the injury is worth. And Florida juries tend to be *very* liberal. I don't have to ask an insurance broker about this. I'm a retired personal injury lawyer.

Note that overall - this is not a terrible thing - being sued where you live - assuming you have adequate insurance. If I had an accident in Poland - I don't think I'd want to be sued in Poland - and spend half of the next 3 years going back and forth for court proceedings. Being tried in a foreign court in a language I didn't speak - where I wasn't dealing with US lawyers.

Anyway - when we drove outside the US and Canada - we always used to buy a one month insurance policy from AIG (it sold short term policies - mostly to people in the armed forces). They weren't expensive - perhaps $150/month. If AIG wouldn't write a policy in a country I was visiting - one I can recall off the top of my head is Costa Rica - I wouldn't drive there (figured a big company like AIG had good reasons not to write policies in certain countries - and those reasons were enough to dissuade me from driving in those countries). Robyn

I'm sorry you got stuck in traffic. German Autobhanen are have way too muc traffic, specially in the summer.
But as I mentioned earlier, I commuted on A95 (Muenchen-Garmish) and A295 (A95-Starnberg), and there I never found a traffic jam, except for the traffic lights upon arrival in both Muenchen and Starnberg.

Almost every European country has a stricter drinking law than the US. Whereas in the US you can get buy with 2 drinks or so, in Europe many countries have zero tolerance law. In Europe and the rest of the world, the police can stop you without a reason (you are not doing anything wrong) just to check drivers and getting caught with one glass of wine over dinner can land you in jail.

I know Croatia is one example.

That being said, in some European countries you can speed heavily (like 100mbph in 85mph zone) and get away with a 50 euro cash fine.

Goes both ways I guess.

Well put, the premiums are somethings 200 euros and upwards. It's usually not worth it, so rent a car a little longer and return it to the same place and/or airport.

It's a matter of experience. On European highways, cursing speeds can be of 100 mph or faster. In the US, on average they are 70 mph. When you cut someone off on 95 the breaking possibility at 70 mph is a lot less then at 100 mph. US drivers going abroad are not used to that. Same goes when trying to shift lanes and estimate the speed of the car in the lane you are shifting into.

Best malaprop ever. ^

That's an extraordinary malaprop; it's even more ironic than one might think. Cruising over 100 mph on the designated zone of Autobahn won't get you a ticket, but "cursing" very well could result in a fine at any speed!

Oh, another tidbit of info for the OP...Between some countries (Germany and France comes to mind), the actual border crossings still have gate shacks, so to speak, but they are largely unmanned. I have crossed into France from Germany and saw that the French police (I think) were stopping cars leaving France and spot checking them. This may have been tax police or some other entity. I also remember seeing these border booths going from Luxembourg into Belgium. Germany to Austria, on the other hand, has only a sign.

There are border crossings going into Switzerland, and they are all manned (or were a couple of years ago).

So I can't curse and drive hellbent down the Autobahn simultaneously.

Another fantasy shattered...

I don't know about the "new" EU members, like Poland, Czech Republik, Slovenia etc., but between the "old" countrys, like France, Germany, Italy etc. there aren't checkpoints anymore, just signs "welcome to...", but this doesn't mean that the border patrol doesn't exsist anymore, specially the border between the Netherlands and Germany is still protected by patrol cars that stop travellers at random, to look for drugs and illegal imigration.

The Swiss-EU borders still exist in their old form, with manned checkpoints.

One last remark regarding the speed on the German Autobahn: Any car with more than 200 hp will go 250 kph (160 mph) or more, and whenever possible their drivers will drive at least between 100 and 150 mph.
For example I usually drive around 120 mph, when there are no traffic jams, but I still want to stay on the right lane as I'm frequently overtaken by sportscars driving faster than 180 mph. Especially on the A81 from Stuttgart to the Swiss border.

Thanks for the update on that, DTS. After consulting my map to see where I was, the 'deserted border checkpoint' I was referring to was on the A64 / E44 between Trier and Luxembourg City. This was a few years ago so they may have dismantled that gate complex.

Recency of EU membership isn't always the determining factor. Not too many years ago there was still a traditional checkpoint between Germany and Denmark. When I went through all cars entering Denmark were being stopped.

Both countries are old members. I assume the control is because Germany is Schengen while Denmark is Scandanavian. The Scandanavian rules on importation of alcoholic beverages might have something to do with it also.

Both Denmark and Germany are part of Schengen and have been since the very beginning, that means you can cross the border without having to show your passport.
If you fly between Germany and Denmark (as this is a flyer forum after all) then your flight would be regarded as a domestic flight.
The fact that Denmark is part of Scandinavia is quite irrelevant.

However all European countries are still sovereign countries and still have the full right to have customs controls at the ports of entry and check whoever whenever they want to, just like any country in the world.
It could be a simple routine control or it could be that they got a tip about possible smuggling, trafficing, illegal immigrants etc.
The rules for the import of alcohol (in most EU countries I think) say you can basically import any amount of alcohol from another EU country as long as it's for personal consumption. If you bring a large quantity for example for a large party/anniversary/wedding etc it may be advisable to bring a proof.

I agree, tailgating is very dangerous regardless of where. I usually use my high beams to signal the car infront (with a good distance, not tailgating) that is driving in the left (passing) lane slow to move over (if he can). Unfortunately, in the US most people get offended by that and do not move out of their lane just to spite me.

I also wish there was a law that prohibits slow drivers in the left lanes. Maybe there is and it's just not enforced.