Diess at Tempo 130: Everyone cares about the feeling of freedom on German motorways

Herbert Diess, head of Volkswagen, believes that Germany has a competitive advantage that it should not give up easily. By this he means the general speed limit not found on the German motorway, and which has been discussed more widely in recent days.

“Like any other country, Germany represents individual freedom. No matter where you are in the world, everyone cares about the feelings of freedom on German highways,” Dis told him Handelsblatt. The debate about the speed limit should be conducted publicly. “We will give up a lot if – as we have suggested by the Greens and the Social Democrats – we limit ourselves to 130 kilometers per hour.”

Free highways have produced a lot of engineering skills, they provide optimal conditions, especially for distinguished manufacturers. That is why the premium part is almost entirely in the hands of Germany. In the United States, with a top speed limit of 55 mph (approximately 90 km/h), there are twice as many road deaths as in this country. In light of technical advances such as traffic control systems and autonomous driving, Deiss cannot imagine that major traffic accidents will continue to occur in 15 years.

CxU and FDP against it, SPD, Left and Greens in favour

If a speed limit is introduced after the next general election, his group will be prepared because Volkswagen was already exporting to countries with speed limits. And in the electric world that Volkswagen is headed for, people are driving slow anyway because cars lose their range at high speeds.

Armin Laschet, candidate for the CDU and CSU, called the debate over the speed limit illogical. “We don’t need any bans or ideologies, we rely on reason and innovation,” he told RND. In its future programme, SPD has stated that it wants to introduce a speed limit of 130 km/h. FDP Vice Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki responded to Green Party leader Robert Habeck: “Anyone who demands speed limits in the face of one of the worst economic crises in the Federal Republic of Germany lives behind the moon politically.” The left calls for Tempo 120 on German motorways and describes the Greens with their call of Tempo 130 as frenzied.

(anw)