Germany retains unlimited autobahns

The hypercar haven of Germany will retain its status as the fastest in the world after the government today rejected proposals from safety and environment groups for a blanket 130km/h maximum limit.

But it’s come at a cost, with the German government under fire at home from the same lobby groups that helped usher in old-diesel bans in some of the country’s busiest cities.

While plenty of high-mileage Australians would drool at the prospect of a 130km/h maximum speed limit, Germans regarded it as an assault on their civil liberties.

About 70 per cent of Germany’s extensive 25,767km of multi-lane, divided autobahn network has unlimited status, and many Germans – including car company executives – have put the government under pressure to retain the world’s fastest public roads.

In fact, some critics insist the government's opposition to the proposal, as recommended by a government-appointed commission on future mobility, was only canned after the car industry’s intensive lobbying.

Yet there was a groundswell of public pressure to retain the unlimited autobahns after revelations the commission was recommending their axing.

It suggested a maximum speed of 130km/h to improve road safety and lower CO2 emissions.

The Transport Minister, Andreas Scheuer, attacked the speed limit proposal yesterday (Monday), calling it “against all common sense”.

“The principle of freedom has proven itself,” Scheuer said in a press conference.

“Whoever wants to drive 120 can drive 120, and those who want to go faster can do that too. Why this constant micromanagement?” he said.

Scheuer insisted German autobahns were the safest in the world and that a limit would cut the country’s road transport emissions by less than 0.5 per cent.

That said, Scheuer hails from Bavaria, home to BMW and the Volkswagen Group’s premium Audi brand, along with an enormous number of auto industry suppliers. He will meet with the commission to discuss the speed limit proposals, due to be tabled in parliament in late March.

“The goal is to think about the work they’re doing and to generate results, instead of revisiting old, rejected and unrealistic demands like speed limits,” Scheuer said.

Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, insisted she would not introduce a speed limit.

“There are more intelligent methods (to lower CO2 emissions) than a general speed limit,” Seibert said, in reference to controlling CO2 emissions.

The decision hasn’t cheered Germany’s police forces, though, with the state chairman of the North Rhine Westfalia Police Union, Erich Rettinghaus, insisting: “Speed ??is still the number one killer on German roads".