Who will develop the people who can safely drive those cars? It might help if we stopped handing out licenses to any idiot who can pass a second-grade level 20 question test and drive around the block without killing anyone.
Germany with its Autobahn has about the same highway accident rate as the US. Aside from far better driver education (you must take a real course including lots of driving time) and a very hard test, the roads and rules are better. Here a few things that help:
- Autobahns are well-maintained.
- They have gentle grades and smooth, banked turns.
- They are limited-access, no getting on or off except throught the ramps, which have long acceleration and deceleration lanes.
- You will get ticketed for:
- Passing on the right.
- Not staying in the right lane when not passing.
- Driving too slowly.
- Stopping unnecessarily (including running out of gas) -- accidents, mechanical failures, flat tires and traffic jams are about the only allowable excuses.
- Being rude (road rage, flipping somebody off, etc.)
- They have wide paved shoulders for disabled cars to pull onto.
- They have blinders on the median between oncoming lanes during curves
- They have numerous rest stops, gas stations, restaurants and hotels within this enclosed system, with the long entry and exit lanes.
- They have very wide lanes (3.5 - 3.7 meters)
- At certain points of congestion, big trucks and cars hauling trailers are not allowed to pass.
There are other things, but those are some that make for a high-speed, yet safe, roadway.