I live at the north end of Highway two in Alberta, Canada. It’s a wonderful, nearly straight, 300km stretch of 6 lanes that runs south to Calgary. This is our autobahn.
The posted limit is 110kmh or 70mph for our metrically impaired members. Very few people follow the posted speed limit and even the police generally don’t ticket people unless they are exceeding 120kmh (80mph). Things go pretty smoothly when everyone is moving in the same direction at relatively similar speeds. Problems arise when you have people driving well above or well below the limit because it changes the relative speeds between drivers. Another problem is people who drive faster than their cars design allows for. Porches are designed to go fast, minivans are not.
When many people check their rear view mirror before changing lanes they don’t expect that speck in the distance to be coming up behind them at 200kmh. So they change lanes. Carnage can ensue if the approaching driver can’t avoid the slower moving vehicle. I always take an extra long look at whoever is coming up behind me as I have experienced this exact scenario with me being the “slower” vehicle moving along at a leisurly 120kmh.
I used to ride my motorcycle at extremely high speed as long as I was the only one on the road. 220kmh wasn’t an uncommon speed for me but I would never drive like this in any traffic. Slamming into the back of another car at this speed wouldn’t have been pretty at all.
salreus - (nearly) all Interstates are freeways (some segments have tolls), but not all freeways are Interstates. The Interstate system is designed to connect the states - and started out in the 1950’s as the Interstate and Defense Highway System - the logic being the Pentagon needed unobstructed paths to move troops from place to place, I guess in case the Russkies invaded. Over time the “defense” has dropped out. Now, the big distinction is with funding, I-states are eligible for 90% Federal funds, other highways and roads, lower percents. Also, there are minimum design standards.
Regarding numbering - Most have 2 digits, even #s going E-W, odd going N-S; those with three digits either go around a metro area (1st digit even), or provide a spur into the city (1st digit odd). As with anything, there are exceptions, Fla. has I-4 running from Tampa to Daytona Beach (one digit, one state), and the west coast has I-5, running thru Calif., Ore., and (?) Wash. Then there is the “Interstate” on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
My problem with your logic in both this thread and the one about DUI laws is that you seem to think laws should be written for each individual citizen. Everyone has to play by the same rules, end of story. If there’s a speed limit, driving skill has nothing to do with how fast you should be driving. Accidents happen to EVERYONE, and just because you think you can hold more liquor or drive better than other poeple doesn’t make you above the law.
If you just gotta be you and break these laws, then you should be prepared to pay the consequences of being so superior.