WEBVTT - Could California Get an Autobahn?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. Germany is known for several awesome things,

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<v Speaker 1>including beer brats, and of course, the autobon Bund. This autobon,

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<v Speaker 1>as it's known in Germany, is really just a federal

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<v Speaker 1>highway system there, but to visitors, the allure of the

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<v Speaker 1>auto bon is the speed limit or lack of one.

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<v Speaker 1>Cars can top two per hour during normal conditions on

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<v Speaker 1>this famed freeway. That's about a hundred and fifty miles

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<v Speaker 1>per hour. And now a California legislator is proposing a

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<v Speaker 1>bill that could make the state home to what is

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<v Speaker 1>being called the American auto bon. John Morlock, the Republican

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<v Speaker 1>state senator from Orange County, introduced State Bill three nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>in February of twenty nineteen to relieve traffic congestion along

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<v Speaker 1>Interstate five and State Route ninety nine. According to the

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<v Speaker 1>proposed plan, both roadways would get new lanes, one northbound

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<v Speaker 1>and one southbound. Drivers in the new lanes would not

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<v Speaker 1>have to abide by a speed limit, though the existing

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<v Speaker 1>sixty five miles per hour limit would remain in effect

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<v Speaker 1>in the existing lanes. That's about a hundred and five

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<v Speaker 1>kilometers per hour. The idea also could provide an alternative

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<v Speaker 1>to California's controversial, long delayed, and possibly canceled high speed

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<v Speaker 1>rail project. The proposal comes on the heels of California

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<v Speaker 1>Governor Gavin Newsom's announcement that the Bullet Train as planned

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<v Speaker 1>is too expensive at an estimated cost of seventy seven

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars, and would take too long to build. There

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<v Speaker 1>are no official cost estimates for the Audubon bill, but

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<v Speaker 1>in February, Senator Morlock told The Los Angeles Times it

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<v Speaker 1>could cost about three billion dollars. He also said the

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<v Speaker 1>money would come from the state's cap and trade program,

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<v Speaker 1>which requires companies to offset pollution by purchasing credits. If

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<v Speaker 1>plans move forward, the American Audubon would be constructed along

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<v Speaker 1>major freeways, with the Labock area, which is about eighty

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<v Speaker 1>miles or a hundred and twenty nine kilometers north of

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<v Speaker 1>Los Angeles at the southern point, and Sacramento or Stockton

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<v Speaker 1>at the northern end. That means theoretically, vehicles traveling north

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<v Speaker 1>at one miles per hour in the unrestricted lane could

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<v Speaker 1>make the trip from Sacramento to Lubec in about three hours. Currently,

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<v Speaker 1>that drive takes over four hours well over depending on traffic.

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<v Speaker 1>Aside from improving drive times for those along that route,

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<v Speaker 1>the authors of the bill claim it would also help

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<v Speaker 1>reduce congestion, which would in turn decrease greenhouse gas emissions

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<v Speaker 1>from vehicle stuck idling. For that reason, the bill specifies

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<v Speaker 1>that funding should come from California's Greenhouse Gas Production Fund,

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<v Speaker 1>which regularly supports transportation and transit projects that reduce pollution.

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<v Speaker 1>Critics point out, however, the emissions go up at high speeds,

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<v Speaker 1>so encouraging people to drive faster means there wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>any net reduction in pollution. In fact, Bill Magivern, a

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<v Speaker 1>spokesperson for the Coalition for Clean Air, told s F

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<v Speaker 1>Gate that the net reduction in emissions theory is ridiculous.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to the pollution concerns, critics are also worried

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<v Speaker 1>about the risks to drivers. Marine Vogel, a spokeswoman for

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<v Speaker 1>the National Safety Council, told USA Today that numerous studies

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<v Speaker 1>demonstrate that when states raise speed limits, they can expect

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<v Speaker 1>an increase in traffic fatalities. Statistics from the U s

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<v Speaker 1>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in speeding was

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<v Speaker 1>a factor in twenty six percent of all traffic fatalities.

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<v Speaker 1>That accounts for nearly ten thousand deaths. Several states across

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<v Speaker 1>the US have increased speed limits. For instance, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,

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<v Speaker 1>South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming allow drivers to travel

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<v Speaker 1>eighty miles per hour on certain highways, and Texas allows

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<v Speaker 1>eighty five miles per hour along a specific stretch of

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<v Speaker 1>State Highway one thirty. That's up to about a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty seven kilometers per hour. However, the current maximum

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<v Speaker 1>speed limit in California is still seventy miles per hour

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<v Speaker 1>about a hundred thirteen kilometers per hour, with some stretches

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<v Speaker 1>along the proposed Audubon route a little bit lower. Californians

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't get too excited, though, yet. The bill has a

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<v Speaker 1>long way before ever becoming law and may never get there.

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<v Speaker 1>If it passes the vote in the state's House and Senate,

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<v Speaker 1>it must then be approved by Governor Newsom. For contrast,

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<v Speaker 1>Germany's Autobon covers seven thousand, five hundred miles that's about

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<v Speaker 1>twelve th kiometers, and there are some sections with speed limits.

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<v Speaker 1>New drivers in Germany are actually trained on the autobon

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<v Speaker 1>to learn how to handle the high speeds, and the

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<v Speaker 1>country's licensing process is a lot more difficult, time consuming,

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<v Speaker 1>and expensive than it is in the United States. If

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<v Speaker 1>California's autobon gets approved, this three D some mile stretch

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<v Speaker 1>of road might only be a start to a larger system.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Shari's three Wit and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>For more in this and lots of other topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.