Busted at 199 mph: the Autobahn myth that got this driver in hot water
A driver was clocked at 199 mph on the A2 highway near Burg in Germany, where there is no general speed limit - in most of the network...
Much of Germany’s federal motorway network, die Autobahn, has no fixed speed limit and for the uninitiated, the rules on how fast you can travel may seem at best, vague.
The advisory speed limit is currently 130 km/hr (81 m/h) but drivers are free to step on the accelerator and drive as fast as they want in certain unrestricted sections of the motorway.
Twice the speed limit
Last month, one motorist was caught out flouting the autobahn’s almost discretionary speed restrictions. On July 28, an unnamed driver was captured by a roadside radar tearing along the A2 highway near Burg, west of Berlin at speeds in excess of 320 km/hr (199 m/h) - over twice the speed limit.
The person behind the wheel of the vehicle was slapped with 900 euro fine ($1,043), docked two points from his driver’s license and handed a three-month driving ban.
It begs the question, if there are no fixed speed limits on the autobahn, why was this driver fined and banned for being in a hurry? Because the particular section he was driving through is subject to a fixed speed limit - in this case, 120 km/hr (74.5 m/h).
Understanding speed limits on Germany’s motorways
Germany is the only country in the world where there is no general speed limit on motorways. However, it appears most Germans would be in favor of establishing one.
Across the country’s 16 states, around 65% of the network does not have a fixed speed limit - although restrictions do apply depending on the class of vehicle. For example, the speed limit for buses carrying passengers is 60 km/hr (37 m/h) and for passenger cars pulling trailers, 80 km/hr (50 m/h).
A 100 km/hr speed limit was introduced in 1973 as a temporary response to rationing and rising prices at the petrol pump during the height of the oil crisis. Since then there have been a number of attempts to introduce a blanket speed limit on Germany’s motorways - the general consensus today is that at some point, it will become a reality - especially seeing as there are now more cars in the road than ever. At the start of the new millennium, there were 42.84 million cars registered in Germany- that figure today stands at 49.1 million.
Apart from the various environmental organizations, those who support the motion to implement a speed limit on motorways include the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Alliance 90 (The Greens) and The Left.
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