Re: Approach to photographing people in the street
1bwana1 wrote:
Knut. wrote: 1bwana1 wrote:
When I was young the Western US used to have States with no daytime speed limits. All gone now.
I would guess that I am more comfortable at very high speeds than most people, including most Germans. Still I recognize that the skill level of almost all drivers is not adequate to drive at high speed. I don't trust them. I therefore do not tend to drive very fast on public roads. Yes, even in Germany.
Recent Statistics
US total traffic deaths reached 40,901 in 2023 (1.26 per 100 million vehicle-miles overall), with Interstate fatalities historically around 4,700-5,800 annually in the 1990s-2000s. Germany’s Autobahn deaths were far lower at 430 in 2010 and 409 in 2017.[iihs +3]
Rate Comparison
US Interstates had rates of 1.19 (rural) and 0.65 (urban) fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles in 1994, improving to similar levels by 2002—equating to roughly 11.9-6.5 per billion vehicle-miles. Converted similarly, German Autobahns average about 1.67 per billion vehicle-miles without speed limits (0.95 with), making them safer per mile traveled.
Germany’s lower absolute fatalities reflect engineering and driver behavior. European rankings confirm German Autobahns as relatively safe.
Statistics like this lie. I have driven a lot in Germany in my life. The parts of the Autobahn system with no speed limits has drastically shrunken since I began driving there in the 1970s. In most of the Country I find actual speeds these days to be similar to the US and Italy these days at just over 80mph/135 kph. Don't forget thathe US driving laws and roads are governed by the states. With 50 States and a population equal to almost the entire EU a more valid comparison would probably be to compare numbers with the entire EU.
Also consider the the German Autobahn is a Federal System. Those few areas where speed is now unrestricted are limited to a very narrow set of circumstances. These include road design, construction, traffic levels, weather conditions, and even time of day. Now compare the death statistics to those sections of American roads that match all these criteria and you may be able to draw more meaningful conclusions. Instinctively I doubt outcomes would be significantly different. Math remains math, and physics remains physics. For a given mass, traveling at a given velocity, the forces remain the same no matter the Government or tge ethnicity. So, the risk to outcome is also the same.
This is the same way that the health outcomes are distorted. The US is much more broad ethnic mix than Europen countries. The Italians love to brag about how their food and National heath system means longer lives. But when you look at life spans of American of Italian decent the numbers are actually about equal. In fact in California it is a bit longer than in Italy. In my personal circumstances healthcare is more effecient, is of a higher standard, and is less expensive than here in Italy. Even in the North. It is much worse in the South. Propaganda is very high in Europe. My direct comparison being Citizen of both and living in both is that freedom and respect for the individual is much reduced in Europe. Here you are heavily averaged down. This has different benefits and different negatives and these vary greatly by individual circumstances.
I guess we reach a deadlock with apodictic claims like „statistics like this lie“ I explicitly researched fatalities per billion miles driven, to make data comparable.
The data just shows that fatality rates with speed limits is lower than fatalitiy rates without speed limits in Germany, but BOTH numbers are clearly lower than the fatality rates on the interstates in the US. I wouldn‘t mind discussing, if you present data / statistics supporting your alternative view. But this way we get lost in „I believe“, „you believe“…
Btw: 80mph are just 128,7km/h
We talked about liberties, you have some strong views here. I just gave an example of a German liberty: driving as fast a you wish, if the road allows this. No one disputes that only a portion of all autobahns are suitable for unlimited driving.
Let‘s leave our musings and assertions on the liberty of people on both sides of the Atlantic just as they stand and get back to photography.
Feb 16, 2026 at 04:58 PM
Previous versions of Knut.'s message #16988249 « Approach to photographing people in the street »
