Low Emissions Push Turns into Autobahn Speed Limits

Sometime in the last week of March, we all heard about a plan the European Union has of making internal combustion powered cars a thing of the past in the continent's major cities, and replace them with EVs and other green vehicles. At about the same time, rumors in Germany began saying that the country's (and probably the world's) most famous roads might be slapped with one or two annoying speed limits.

The decision to impose a speed limit on more sections of the Autobahn is yet to be made, but apparently such a move is being considered by the recent winners of the elections in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The goal, they say, would be reducing vehicle emissions in the region, which are currently at extremely high levels because of the speeds car travel at on the respective road.

“Traffic in Baden-Wuerttemberg contributes around 30 percent to carbon-dioxide emissions,” premier Winfried Kretschmann said in a statement. “It’s clear that the transportation sector has to make a contribution of its own to reduce this gas that’s harmful to the environment.”

Obviously, the German automakers would advise against imposing a speed limit on Autobahn sections that still don't have a speed limit. According to Daimler's CEO Dieter Zetsche, German cars “are built for high speeds is an important argument in other countries for buying them.”

Currently, about 65 percent of the Baden-Wuerttemberg highways have no speed limit. Aside for changing that, the eco-party that has won the elections, the Greens, plans more pro-environment measures, including introducing city tolls for polluting cars and incentives for eco-friendly ones.