Or... we all take driving more seriously. I spent some time driving in Lithuania and Latvia last week - everyone was pretty serious about it and nobody was a jerk. (Latvian drivers are pretty aggressive too). Why? My guess is that like Germany, getting the privilege to drive is hard and penalties for errors are harsh.
Not here in America, we consider driving too much of a right to allow infringement. No vehicle safety checks and cars aren't driven - they're operated while doing something else. Pass the exam once, and never worry about good driving again.
Also, I hardly ever saw a cop patrolling. I drove from one side of the country to the other on the motorway and never saw a patrolman. I did see traffic cameras and speed cameras though.
