Yahoo Finance German government rules out an autobahn speed limit
A heated debate over introducing an autobahn speed limit has gripped Germany ever since it emerged last week that a committee tasked with coming up with ideas to lower transport emissions was suggesting a limit of 130kph (80mph) on the country’s motorways.
The spectre of an autobahn speed limit riled up the media and politicians, including transport minister Andreas Scheuer, whose ministry oversees the committee that suggested the speed restriction. Scheuer said the proposal went “against all common sense.”
Angela Merkel’s spokesperson finally parked the topic on Monday, telling journalists in Berlin that the chancellor would not introduce a speed limit on the German autobahn.
“There are more intelligent methods than a general speed limit,” Steffen Seibert said, in reference to controlling CO2 emissions. He noted that there were already limits on large swathes of the motorway network, with 30% of motorways already subjected to speed limits.
However, not all Germans appear to be obsessed with tearing along at blistering speeds. A survey by Emnid for newspaper Bild showed that 52% of respondents were in favour of a motorway limit of between 120kph and 140kph to help fight climate change.
A police chief also spoke out in favor of a speed limit. “Speed is still the number one killer on German roads,” said Erich Rettinghaus, the State Chairman of the German Police Union in North Rhine Westfalia. He considered a general speed limit to be a necessary step in tackling the number of road deaths.
