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Cars on the A2: »I advocate a maximum speed of 130 km/h«
Photo: Peter Steffen / picture alliance / dpa
After the dubious record drive of a millionaire at 417 km/h on the A2 motorway, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) reiterated his demand for a speed limit.
There are "many good reasons" for this - more safety, more environmental protection, more relaxed driving for everyone.
"Even if it won't make a big difference on many routes given the crowded streets and the speed limits that are already in force," Weil told SPIEGEL, "I advocate a maximum limit of 130 km/h."
With this, Weil distances himself from the coalition agreement of the traffic light parties in Berlin on this issue.
It states that there will be no general speed limit on motorways in this legislative period.
During the election campaign, the SPD and the Greens had spoken out in favor of speed limits, but the FDP prevented them in the coalition negotiations.
Weil's statements are also explosive because he is a member of the Volkswagen supervisory board as one of the representatives of the major shareholder Lower Saxony.
Unlike Weil, VW boss Herbert Diess had spoken out against a general speed limit several times in the past.
Czech businessman Radim Passer crashed in a Bugatti Chiron on the A2 between Berlin and Hanover in mid-2021.
The ride became known last week after Passer published a video of the action.
The luxury sports car manufacturer belonged to Volkswagen for many years.
Last year, the group sold the majority to the Croatian carmaker Rimac.
The VW subsidiary Porsche, on the other hand, still holds 45 percent of Bugatti.
"Don't misuse motorways as racetracks"
The police are now investigating the Bugatti driver.
There is no speed limit on the relevant section of the motorway.
However, the criminal offense of “running alone” comes into consideration for the behavior of the driver.
In addition to the debate about a speed limit, calls for tightening of the law are already being made.
"Such behavior is completely unacceptable and must be punishable," Green politician Swantje Michaelsen told SPIEGEL.
"In any case, we must not allow our motorways to be misused as racetracks and people endangered by absurdly high speeds," said the member of the Bundestag, who is a member of the transport committee.
In case of doubt, the laws would have to be tightened accordingly.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has so far held back with clear reactions to the frenzy incident. Last week, his ministry merely said that any behavior on the road that leads or could lead to a hazard to road users is rejected. So far, Wissing had vehemently rejected a general speed limit. With this attitude, the FDP had also prevailed in the negotiations of the traffic light coalition. The coalition agreement states explicitly: "There will be no general speed limit."
Wissing does not even consider a speed limit in vehicles to be legally feasible: "A mandatory speed limit of 250 km/h for cars is not permitted in Germany," explains a spokeswoman for the ministry, "because the EU type approvals that apply to all EU member states do not allow this provide".
Bugatti shareholder Porsche is already one step further: In the Taycan e-sports car, an electronic lock engages at the top speed of 260 km/h.
