Germany’s vaunted super-highway system, the Autobahn, has dodged another attempt at regulating its unmetered speeds as a new coalition government has promised to leave it alone, despite the wish of some coalition partners.
But that wall against imposing speed limits may not last forever in the light of recent polls that show that a majority of Germans may actually have swung around to telling drivers “not so fast!”
The idea of a speed limit has been raised before, and has been imposed in a few areas for safety reasons, but there’s been a general belief that German drivers wouldn’t put up with it. In the recent national election, it was again an issue, with the Green Party pushing for it and the Free Democrats staunchly against it. Now, as the two parties prepare to enter a coalition with the Social Democrats, the three parties have pledged “there will be no general speed limit.”
A poll run by German broadcaster ARD covering a variety of issues besides highway speed asked what people would consider sensible measures for environmental and climate protection; 60% said that a 130 km/h speed limit on the Autobahn would be a step in the right direction. That’s about 80 mph. The figure is several points higher than on a previous survey in June.
