AMERICAN AUTOBAHN

"Every start upon an untrodden path is a venture which only in unusual circumstances looks sensible and likely to be successful."
—Albert Schweitzer

Introduction: Not just a Faster, Safer Road but a Better America as Well

A 100 mph anecdote and a foreshadowing of things to come—whetting the appetite of fast and slow drivers alike.

Chapter One: Glory Days 1940-1973

From the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1940 (with no speed limit) to an America speeding headlong toward the first Arab oil embargo in 1973, the Glory Days packs all of the high-horsepower, V-8 excitement of that time—with the Grim Reaper riding shotgun for many drivers...

Chapter Two: National Maximum Disgrace

Why the 55 mph National Maximum Speed Limit setback the cause of improved highway safety by at least two decades. The first detailed look inside of a federal policy that cost consumers billions of dollars in higher vehicle prices and billions of hours of lost travel time on the road. A tragic, disgraceful legacy.

Chapter Three: State of the Art Driving: The German Autobahn

How is it possible for drivers in Germany to travel routinely at 100 mph and consistently score a lower death rate than in the U.S.? All of the high-speed thrills, excitement and answers that make the Autobahn the fastest, safest freeway on earth.

Chapter Four: The Road To An American Autobahn

The tough questions and obvious answers to change America's ox-cart safety policy into a high-performance safety policy, from Slow-is-always-Safer to Fast-and-Safe.

Chapter Five: Performance and Passive Safety: Safe Vehicle Design

What will it take to produce a comprehensively safer car that costs less? All the vehicles on tomorrow's highway get a makeover in this chapter to fit the Fast-and-Safe agenda.

Color Illustrations by Mark Stehrenberger

Today's premiere automotive artist has created eight original works of art for American Autobahn: Tomorrow's motorcycle, 18-wheeler and high-tech squad car all come to life in beautiful color. (And wait until you see the fiftieth anniversary Corvette and Lincoln Mark "X" on America's interstate with no speed limit!) Dozens of other illustrations, engineering drawings, charts and photographs.

Chapter Six: Drive Right: The Secret of Fast-and-Safe Driving

This is the "secret" why the German Autobahn is so safe. It is a safety program that is all but absent on the American highway. One that will help fast and slow drivers safely coexist on the same road.

Drive Right is also the physical and electronic safety improvements for tomorrow's road. Find out how we will move tomorrow's traffic quickly and safely.

Chapter Seven: An A.D.E.P.T. Driver

Advanced Driver Education Program and Training is a practical, doable safety program to improve everyone's driving incrementally. The foundation of Fast-and-Safe driving is to put a better trained driver on the road. Period.

Chapter Eight: Interstate Patrol

Who are the fastest, safest drivers on the road today? State Troopers. They are the perfect people to show the rest of us how to drive Fast and Safe. State police agencies are also uniquely suited to oversee all of the above precautionary measures and implement them on the road.

Chapter Nine: A Drive on Tomorrow's Freeway

Here is the payoff for a job well done, the reward for making the assumption that high speed will be a part of our future highway safety network. It's time to take a fast drive down tomorrow's interstate in a red, fiftieth anniversary Corvette.

Chapter Ten: Come American Autobahn?

How do we really make it happen? Who will lead the way? And how will we pay for it? The hard questions and the tough answers that leave little doubt about this being the only way to go to reduce significantly the number of people killed and injured on the road—at high speed.

Appendix of Statistics

Aknowledgments

Bibliography

One-hundred and thirty sources: Books, Federal Government Hearings, Pamplets, Periodicals, Technical and Research Reports

Index