Pro & Contra
Should a speed limit be introduced?
Should a 130 km/h speed limit be introduced on the German autobahn? A supporter and an opponent of this idea put forward their arguments.
Pro
Dorothee Saar heads the Transport & Clean Air division at Environmental Action Germany (DUH). The organisation is committed to protecting nature and the environment and to consumer rights. Together with an alliance whose members include Greenpeace, the social advocacy organisation VdK and the German Police Union (GdP), it is calling for a blanket speed limit.
Contra
Lutz Leif Linden is the president of the German automobile association Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD). Founded in 1899, the association campaigns for road safety and motor sports. It has 1.4 million members and customers. The ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), Germany’s largest automobile association with around 22 million members, is no longer opposed in principle to a speed limit.
Can a speed limit contribute to protecting the environment and the climate?
Yes. A speed limit is in fact the most important and effective means of protecting the climate in the transport sector, as it has an immediate impact and is inexpensive to implement. In a recent study, the UBA - Germany’s main environmental protection agency - calculated the impact that a speed limit would have on the climate. Imposing a speed limit on the autobahn and limiting the maximum speed outside built-up areas to 80 km/h would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by traffic by up to 8.1 percent. A speed limit alone would therefore bring us around one third closer to achieving the binding climate targets in the transport sector by 2030. There is every reason to impose a speed limit in terms of environmental protection, too: it would reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides and fine particles.
From the AvD’s perspective: no. There are around 13,200 km of autobahn in Germany, accounting for two percent of the total road network. 600 billion kilometres in total are driven per year - a third on the autobahn. Although no speed limit applies on 70 percent of the autobahn, a recent analysis conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW) shows that 83 percent of vehicles travel at speeds of below 130 km/h on those non-speed-limited stretches of autobahn surveyed. Another ten percent travel at between 130 and 140 km/h. Only roughly one percent exceed speeds of 160 km/h. The average speed is 113.5 km/h. This allows realistic conclusions to be drawn about carbon emissions and reduces the potential savings predicted for example by the UBA, which range between two and six million tons per year. Given that Germany’s overall carbon emissions total around 700 million tons per year, setting a 130 km/h speed limit on the autobahn would reduce emissions only by a tiny fraction.
Would a speed limit increase road safety in Germany?
Yes. A blanket speed limit could save hundreds of lives and avoid countless very severe injuries each year. Driving at excessive speed is one of the main causes of fatalities on the roads. It is not only the absolute speed that counts in this context - the huge differences between very fast and much slower vehicles also play an important role. A speed limit would reduce these differences and make traffic flow more homogenously and predictably. Especially on major non-motorway roads, where most fatal accidents occur, limiting the maximum speed to 80 km/h could save lives.
The AvD has always been committed to road safety and “Vision Zero” - the goal of eliminating road traffic deaths and serious injuries. Statistically, accidents involving injury or death accounted for just under seven percent of all autobahn accidents in 2023. 70 percent of accidents occurred within built-up areas and 24 percent on non-motorway roads outside built-up areas. The figures are similar with respect to fatalities: eleven percent occur on the autobahn, 32 percent in built-up areas and 58 percent on non-motorway roads outside built-up areas. Official statistics indicate that 40 percent of fatalities on the autobahn are related to accidents caused by “non-appropriate speed”. However, this also applies to speeds below 130 km/h, for example when drivers have failed to give due consideration to the traffic situation or weather conditions.
Could a speed limit reduce congestion and noise pollution?
Yes. Differences in speed and the acceleration and braking processes that these entail are one of the main reasons why dust is formed on roads. A speed limit helps even out speeds, making traffic flow more smoothly and thus causing significantly less congestion. A speed limit is also an important and inexpensive way to reduce noise pollution, as less noise is generated at lower speeds: lowering a vehicle’s speed from 130 to 100 km/h reduces the perceived noise pollution by 50 percent, for example. This is important because noise pollution is the second-largest environmental cause of health problems, air pollution being the biggest. It increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, sleep disorders and psychological stress. Since road traffic is the primary source of noise in Germany, a speed limit could relieve the burden on millions of people.
The AvD does not believe this would be the case. The main cause of slow-moving traffic and congestion is too many vehicles on a particular stretch of road at the same time. Roughly a third of all congestion on the autobahn is caused by and ahead of roadworks. The fact that autobahns have an insufficient number of lanes in many conurbations means they are chronically overburdened. According to traffic researchers, this is the reason for another third of all congestion. The final third is caused by accidents. It has not been scientifically proven that a speed limit would result in fewer accidents, however. The potential benefit in terms of noise pollution is also questionable given that the noise generated by vehicle tyres is already considerable at speeds of between 80 to 100 km/h. It is more effective to use “silent asphalt” and to erect noise barriers.
The bottom line: for or against a speed limit, and why?
“Germany is the world’s only industrialised country that still has no speed limit - an exception that is no longer in line with current trends.” The benefits to be gained by a speed limit are scientifically proven, it would be easy and inexpensive to impose one, and it would have an immediate positive impact. A speed limit protects the climate and saves human lives. At the same time, it reduces noise pollution and the emission of harmful fine particles and nitrogen oxides.
The AvD is opposed to the ideology-driven call for a speed limit because it offers virtually no potential for reducing carbon emissions and the absence of a speed limit does not infringe anyone’s basic rights. Road safety would not be noticeably increased because car drivers already behave sensibly and adapt their driving style to the current conditions. Rigid speed limits would not improve congestion on the autobahn and a blanket speed limit would also not reduce noise pollution.