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Speed limit



In one of the adverts for Mercedes, there is a car parked in the midst of a crowd of people directly in front of a bazaar in an Arabian town. A central European comes out of the loud din and climbs into the car. The moment he closes the door, the noise suddenly stops and he finds himself in an oasis of peace and quiet.

There appear to be two basic needs over and above the normal functions of the car. On the one hand, it should make it possible for us to venture into unknown regions relatively quickly, on the other hand however, it should also offer a certain psychological safety. In the TV-spot this is wonderfully made clear. Presumably all car-users share this attitude, which is however, very diversely manifested.

To some, the meaning of a car is much more than simply a means of transport. For most people, the purchase of a new car is one of the largest investments they will ever make. There are countries in Europe (e.g., Italy) where what you wear in public is (maybe) more important. One has the impression, that in Germany, for most people, it is more important in which car you are seen.

BMW inherited the Mini from the Rover disaster and transferred it's design to an absolutely normal front-wheel drive car. According to the information from the test-drive reports, the first motors were not worthy of BMW quality, at the most, the styling of the dash-board could possibly justify the high price. Nonetheless, the sales exceeded even the highest hopes of the board of directors. This proves, that as far as cars are concerned, the packaging is far more important than contents. Have a look at the latest order figures for the Fiat 500!

What does this all have to do with the possibility of a speed-limit enforcement? First of all, it explains why the discussion is so emotional, from those favouring it as well as from those damning it. The known facts are few. With a general speed limit, we could reduce the CO2 emission by about 1%, and the federal government wants to reduce the emission anyway over the next five years. Why should one do without this certain added advantage for the climate?

The better argument, say those in favour of a speed-limit, is actually the accident prevention. The problem is, that the motorways in Germany are, by far the safest roads, the accident rate here is only 6%, how can one reduce this even further. There will always be accidents caused by tail-backs or road-works. Those favouring it, say that accidents at high speed cause, without a doubt, more serious injuries. A TV team recently carried out (despite great difficulties) a 100 km/h crash-test using a VW-Golf V. Although the car produced surprisingly good results, the passengers would probably not have survived.

The motor car manufacturers are working at full speed. Not only on new drive concepts, but also in the parliaments, whose representatives are showing themselves to be surprisingly bicycle friendly. Not everyone has accepted this new trend, there are those who support the stand point of freedom on the the motorway at 230 km/h. They will also have to learn to eat humble pie. At the same time hopefully, with the change of public opinion, the fast-lane blockers will not gain respectability. The tendency towards the "school-master" mentality in Germany regarding this point, must not be allowed to increase. Please, try not to see off-road vehicle drivers as enemies. They too, will have to see reason someday, the sooner the better in fact, because the behaviour of SUVs involved in accidents is almost more dangerous.

The German car manufacturers are going through a difficult period. For years they have been developing their products mainly in the direction of more and more horse-power, now, during the difficult conversion phase, they are feeling the threat of a drop in sales. They consider the threatening speed-limit enforcements as an additional dagger thrust. Then, for what other reason would an American - or a wealthy Chinese customer purchase a German high performance car for double, or even triple the price of an inland product. He would probably, have a lengthy discussion with his wife, e.g., pointing out that the Germans build especially good cars, because the inland buyers also test the cars on unrestricted motorways.

The solution to the problem is actually quite clear. In the long run we won't be able to avoid a more harmonious way of driving. The car developers should be grateful, they have been shown the new direction in which they have to turn. The performance explosion has reached it's peak. During a special check and with the air-conditioning switched off, the fastest production car on the roads today has been clocked at just over 400 km/h and it's fuel consumption is around 100 liters/100 kms. Where do you go from there if this is to be surpassed?

If however, the direction of the whole scientific world seems to be given, we should grant the classical car lover a little time to take leave of these kind of dreams, the new generation of cars will be admired for their energy efficiency and not for their performance. From a political stand-point, very controversial decisions will have to be made and if the opposition were to stand united in favour of a speed-limit restriction, it would probably cause the collapse of the present (2010) government.

Should you be one of those people, who recognises the trends a little earlier than others, and acts accordingly, the decision to take your foot slightly off the gas pedal, is yours. 140 km/h on the clock e.g., when overtaking a long convoy of trucks on a two-lane motorway, is still too much. What the regulations concerning road-traffic in Germany are worth, can be seen in the ban on the use of cell-phones while driving and also in the restrictions enforced in road-working areas. Hardly anyone takes any notice of them at all, there is too little traffic controlling and the fines are become more and more drastic. 09/08








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