Schulze: Common Sense Speaks For Speed Limit

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) is in favor of a general speed limit. So they go on a confrontation course with Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer.

"I'm in favor of a speed limit on German motorways," said the SPD politician to the dpa news agency. It reduces fatal accidents and saves one to two million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. "In this respect, common sense speaks for the introduction of a general speed limit, which has long been in place in almost all EU countries," said Schulze.

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The SPD has named a general speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour as one of the topics for additional projects that it wants to talk to the Union about. Scheuer refuses, however. "We have far more outstanding tasks than putting this highly emotional topic in the shop window again and again - for which there are no majorities," he said of the CSU politician of the dpa.

Contradiction from CSU

Sharp contradiction also came from CSU transport politician Ulrich Lange: "The new SPD chairmen are obviously completely out of the role," said the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag of the dpa. "Anyone who thinks that a general speed limit is the most urgent measure to stop the exodus of SPD voters has obviously lost their political compass." Germany has “one of the safest motorways in the world”.

Scheuer had pointed out that the Bundestag had only recently rejected the general speed limit. In fact, it was only in October that an initiative by the Greens for Tempo 130 in parliament failed. Most of the SPD MPs also voted against it, but this is common practice in coalitions for opposition motions. SPD politicians had already made it clear at the time that the topic should be back on the agenda in the new year.

The left in the Bundestag now want to give them the opportunity to do so. Your parliamentary director Jan Korte told the dpa: "The now ridiculous spectacle about a speed limit should be ended." He therefore proposed to the SPD an intergroup motion with all parliamentary groups that were in favor of a speed limit of 130. “It could be worked out in the first week of the session in January and then debated the week in plenary. That would be believable. " Seriously discussing it with Scheuer is "basically pointless".

Opposition does not have a majority

However, the SPD, the Left and the Greens together do not have a majority. The issue is not part of the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD. In November, Environment Minister Schulze said that it could still come back on the table - if traffic did not make sufficient progress on climate protection. In the coming years it will be checked every year whether the CO2 emissions in traffic are falling. The new Climate Protection Act provides for immediate programs if one area is lagging behind.

Free travel is still valid on most of the motorways in Germany. If you look at an EU map, the country is a “blank spot” - because according to an overview by the ADAC motorists' club, there are speed restrictions everywhere else. However, a recommended recommended speed of 130 has been in effect in Germany for more than 40 years.

70 percent of the motorway network is without a binding speed limit. There are permanent or temporary restrictions with signs on 20.8 percent of the network, as current data from the Federal Highway Research Institute for 2015 show - the most common are Tempo 120 (7.8 percent) and Tempo 100 (5.6 percent). There are also variable traffic routing displays. (dpa)