1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. Germany is known for several awesome things, 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: including beer brats, and of course, the autobon Bund. This autobon, 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: as it's known in Germany, is really just a federal 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: highway system there, but to visitors, the allure of the 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: auto bon is the speed limit or lack of one. 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: Cars can top two per hour during normal conditions on 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: this famed freeway. That's about a hundred and fifty miles 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: per hour. And now a California legislator is proposing a 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: bill that could make the state home to what is 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: being called the American auto bon. John Morlock, the Republican 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: state senator from Orange County, introduced State Bill three nineteen 13 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: in February of twenty nineteen to relieve traffic congestion along 14 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: Interstate five and State Route ninety nine. According to the 15 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: proposed plan, both roadways would get new lanes, one northbound 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: and one southbound. Drivers in the new lanes would not 17 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,959 Speaker 1: have to abide by a speed limit, though the existing 18 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: sixty five miles per hour limit would remain in effect 19 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: in the existing lanes. That's about a hundred and five 20 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: kilometers per hour. The idea also could provide an alternative 21 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: to California's controversial, long delayed, and possibly canceled high speed 22 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: rail project. The proposal comes on the heels of California 23 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: Governor Gavin Newsom's announcement that the Bullet Train as planned 24 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: is too expensive at an estimated cost of seventy seven 25 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: billion dollars, and would take too long to build. There 26 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: are no official cost estimates for the Audubon bill, but 27 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: in February, Senator Morlock told The Los Angeles Times it 28 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: could cost about three billion dollars. He also said the 29 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: money would come from the state's cap and trade program, 30 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: which requires companies to offset pollution by purchasing credits. If 31 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: plans move forward, the American Audubon would be constructed along 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: major freeways, with the Labock area, which is about eighty 33 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: miles or a hundred and twenty nine kilometers north of 34 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: Los Angeles at the southern point, and Sacramento or Stockton 35 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: at the northern end. That means theoretically, vehicles traveling north 36 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: at one miles per hour in the unrestricted lane could 37 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: make the trip from Sacramento to Lubec in about three hours. Currently, 38 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: that drive takes over four hours well over depending on traffic. 39 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: Aside from improving drive times for those along that route, 40 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: the authors of the bill claim it would also help 41 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: reduce congestion, which would in turn decrease greenhouse gas emissions 42 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: from vehicle stuck idling. For that reason, the bill specifies 43 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: that funding should come from California's Greenhouse Gas Production Fund, 44 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: which regularly supports transportation and transit projects that reduce pollution. 45 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: Critics point out, however, the emissions go up at high speeds, 46 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: so encouraging people to drive faster means there wouldn't be 47 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: any net reduction in pollution. In fact, Bill Magivern, a 48 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: spokesperson for the Coalition for Clean Air, told s F 49 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: Gate that the net reduction in emissions theory is ridiculous. 50 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: In addition to the pollution concerns, critics are also worried 51 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: about the risks to drivers. Marine Vogel, a spokeswoman for 52 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: the National Safety Council, told USA Today that numerous studies 53 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: demonstrate that when states raise speed limits, they can expect 54 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,679 Speaker 1: an increase in traffic fatalities. Statistics from the U s 55 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in speeding was 56 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: a factor in twenty six percent of all traffic fatalities. 57 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: That accounts for nearly ten thousand deaths. Several states across 58 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: the US have increased speed limits. For instance, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, 59 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming allow drivers to travel 60 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: eighty miles per hour on certain highways, and Texas allows 61 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: eighty five miles per hour along a specific stretch of 62 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: State Highway one thirty. That's up to about a hundred 63 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: and thirty seven kilometers per hour. However, the current maximum 64 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: speed limit in California is still seventy miles per hour 65 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: about a hundred thirteen kilometers per hour, with some stretches 66 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: along the proposed Audubon route a little bit lower. Californians 67 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: shouldn't get too excited, though, yet. The bill has a 68 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,839 Speaker 1: long way before ever becoming law and may never get there. 69 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: If it passes the vote in the state's House and Senate, 70 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: it must then be approved by Governor Newsom. For contrast, 71 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: Germany's Autobon covers seven thousand, five hundred miles that's about 72 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: twelve th kiometers, and there are some sections with speed limits. 73 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: New drivers in Germany are actually trained on the autobon 74 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: to learn how to handle the high speeds, and the 75 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: country's licensing process is a lot more difficult, time consuming, 76 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: and expensive than it is in the United States. If 77 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,239 Speaker 1: California's autobon gets approved, this three D some mile stretch 78 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:39,799 Speaker 1: of road might only be a start to a larger system. 79 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Shari's three Wit and produced 80 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,559 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and How Stuff Works. 81 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: For more in this and lots of other topics, visit 82 00:04:46,760 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.