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But they're only going 90MPH on average! I used to have a manager who claimed to drive from the Netherlands to the south of France at 120MPH all the way. With his wife and 3 children...

Seriously, "For occasional spurts, 90MPH is not uncommon on the highway," I mean, that's below the average speed on French or German highways!

Why the enormous difference? Deer?

PS: I realize that their biggest challenge by far is to evade law enforcement.

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In the US, most motorists are going 55-65, swerving across lanes in tractors with tinted windows, and have never heard of leaving the left lane to faster moving traffic. Also, the way most of America is laid out, every trip, even 'local' ones, has a freeway leg, so there is constant merging on or off. Without blinking, of course. In Continental Europe, freeway traffic is much more predictable.

Another thing is, Amsterdam to Nice can be driven overnight, on mostly empty freeways.

And last, your manager was likely exaggerating grossly. Amsterdam to Nice at 120 avg., would take only about 7hrs 30 minutes door to door (Or Sea to Shining Sea). With 3 kids, that's more like the time spent at rest stops along the way.

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