Oh no, 'free driving for free people' threatened on autobahns
An EU official has called for Germany to throttle the speeds at which vehicles can hurl across the country's autobahns, calling it a way to fight global warning.
But EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas' proposal to put speed limits on the country's highways _ one of modern Germany's most prized eccentricities _ could be a hard sell in a country with the longtime slogan "free driving for free people."
The autobahns have long been an escape from the cocoon of regulations in other parts of society, a blast of liberation for hard-driving blunt Germans, who prefer getting right to the point to niceties.
Just grip your seat as your German friend weaves in and out of traffic at 170 mph, or Jesus that exhilaration of hitting 120 yourself--admittedly a putz by autobahn standards. The taillights of the Golf ahead with the old couple is growing in size at alarming speed.
But it isn't quite like that on many sections of the autobahns, considering speed limits often do exist, and not every German is an adrenaline freak trying to get cranked.
"This speed limit idea is a joke. There is almost no place left where you can really drive fast because of the traffic _ it won't save any carbon dioxide emissions," said Helmut Boeger, a regional manager for Techniker Krankenkasse, whose job puts him on the road several days a week.
"This is just the Germans being alarmist again, they always want to be the first to save the world environmentally," Boeger added.
Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and DaimlerChrysler's house organization agree with Boeger. The German Association of the Automotive Industry pointedly told Dimas the country didn't need any "coaching" on how to protect the climate. ¶ But a recent survey by the Forsa institute for Stern magazine found that 60 percent would favor autobahn speed limits to cut carbon dioxide emissions, while 38 percent would oppose them.
But a spokesman for the Transport Ministry, Dirk Inger, said a study by a federal agency had found that an overall autobahn limit of 100 kilometers per hour - or 62 mph - would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by only 0.6 percent.
As usual in Germany, there is method to the seeming madness of a no-holds-barred I'm fucking Michael Schumacher autobahn. First, their vehicles are in top shape; second Germans are well-trained drivers.
To keep your vehicle on the road in Germany, you (naturally) need a certificate from TUEV (Technisches Ueberprufungs Verein), a tough test. Before handing over money for a used car, one has to calculate if it can handle the rigors of the next exam. Almost no broken-own cars litter roadsides, like you see in most countries.
The Germans also have to spend weeks in school to gain a driver's license and the test isn't easy, although then they have a lifelong pass on the road. That may be why in a big city like Berlin, you can go months without even seeing a fender-bender. ¶ --rk
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