Jürgen Resch, Managing Director of the German Environmental Aid (DUH), demands a speed limit to rescue the car companies. "Without the speed limit, the German auto industry will go under," he told SPIEGEL. A speed limit is good industrial policy.
Supporters of a speed limit are repeatedly accused of harming one of the most important German industries. The DUH has not enjoyed a good reputation among many drivers since it has been brought to court against numerous cities for high levels of air pollutants, which in some cases has resulted in driving bans for certain diesel models.
According to Resch, speed limit helps autonomous driving
Resch argues that it is not the speed limit that harms the auto industry, but the fact that it does not. Because the high speeds on German motorways prevented the development of new vehicles: "You cannot test modern, digital, autonomous vehicles as long as you have to fear that a car with 250 kilometers per hour will miss it."
These speed differences could become a problem for autonomous cars, explains Andreas Rieger, researcher at the Laboratory for Distributed Artificial Intelligence at TU Berlin. Because the faster you drive, the sooner situations arise that a self-driving vehicle can no longer handle. "Autonomous driving therefore needs a speed limit," says Rieger.
Analyzes and opinions on the speed limit
For cars to be able to drive autonomously, for example, they have to be able to estimate whether it is safe to switch to the left lane. The faster a car approaches there, the further away sensors need to be able to measure. In addition, the range of electric cars decreases at high speeds.
Resch anticipates a severe sales crisis among German manufacturers
The German auto industry has hardly any attractive electric cars on offer anyway. "I expect a severe sales crisis for German car manufacturers in a year or two," said Resch. In the Netherlands, the most frequently registered car was already a Tesla electric car last year.
The SPD had rekindled the discussion about a speed limit at the end of the year. "A speed limit on our motorways is good for climate protection, serves safety and is easy on the nerves of drivers," said the new SPD leader Saskia Esken. Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) also spoke in favor of this.
Scouring prevents speed limit
Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer (CSU), however, firmly rejects a general speed limit. "We have far more outstanding tasks than putting this highly emotional issue over and over again in the shop window," he said. Already in the summer he sharply rejected suggestions from an expert commission to think about a speed limit.
DUH managing director Resch accused the transport minister of refusing to exchange information. He would like to invite him again for a conversation, said Resch, who calls the transport minister a representative of the car companies in the cabinet: "It is probably more promising if I speak directly to his bosses at BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen: Please allow Andreas Scared to talk seriously about a speed limit. "
"The discussion about a speed limit is done automatically by autonomous driving," forecasts researcher Andreas Rieger. Because autonomous vehicles will have to share the streets with human drivers for a long time. "This mixed traffic is a big problem because human behavior cannot be calculated for autonomous vehicles," explains Rieger. The slower this mixed traffic, the safer the autonomous driving. "The traffic will slow down due to the self-driving vehicles," says Rieger.