Posted on 03/17/2007 4:52:14 PM PDT by bkwells
PFAFFENHAUSEN, Germany – Ask Marc Bongers about the wisdom of introducing a speed limit on the German autobahn, and he answers by impatiently revving the 435-horsepower engine of a specially modified Porsche. Slowpokes, he said, already spoil half the fun.
Few things are closer to the German heart than the freedom to drive like a Formula One champion. Rule-bound and risk-averse in so many other ways, Germans regard driving on the autobahn at face-peeling speeds as close to an inalienable right.
Now, though, Germany's love of speed is colliding with its fears about global warming, as it becomes clear that its drivers are spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the air.
Last week, the European Union's environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas of Greece, set off a national debate here by suggesting that the German government introduce a general speed limit on the autobahn.
At least half of the 7,500 miles of autobahn already have either permanent or temporary speed limits. But the autobahn's anything-goes stretches are the world's fastest public roads.
“Speed limits are useful for many reasons, and are the order of the day in most of the EU's 27 member states and the United States,” Dimas said in an interview. “Strangely enough, it is only in Germany where they are controversial.”
No kidding. His mild words were met with heated indignation from politicians and automotive groups. Some acted as if Brussels were demanding that Germany outlaw beer and bratwurst.
This is “a trivialization of the climate problem,” declared the German environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel. The German Association of the Automotive Industry said Germans needed “no coaching” from other Europeans on how to protect the environment.
Even Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has put climate change at the top of her agenda as current president of the European Union and the Group of 8 industrial nations, opposes a uniform speed limit.
She seems to realize that, like Social Security in the United States, the autobahn is the third rail of German politics – potentially deadly to those who dare touch it.
Critics brandish statistics that show a speed limit of 120 kilometers an hour (75 mph) would reduce Germany's overall carbon-dioxide emissions by a few million tons a year, less than 0.5 percent. Better, they say, to focus on building more efficient power plants and houses.
Yet, as environmental groups and a few lonely politicians point out, a few million tons of carbon dioxide is still a considerable savings. Unlike other measures – clean coal plants or hybrid cars, for example – a speed limit could be imposed tomorrow and at relatively little cost.
“Our politicians like to say that Germany should not have to do more than other European countries on climate change, but in this area, we are doing less,” said Josef Goeppel, one of the few conservative members of parliament who favor a limit.
For years, speed limit advocates tried to argue their case on safety grounds. The autobahn, though, is statistically safer than highways in many countries, even if its crashes are singularly horrific. Saving the planet, it turns out, may be more persuasive than saving lives.
Germany also has a powerful economic incentive to resist a speed limit. It builds some of the world's fastest cars, and the autobahn is a valuable showcase and marketing tool for the industry.
Car connoisseurs from around the world flock to Pfaffenhausen, a one-horse town where the local company, Ruf Automobile, makes cars with many horses. Bongers, the sales manager, said people who bought these custom-modified Porsches often took them for a spin on the autobahn. For most, it is the only place they can legally test the top speed of their new toys.
“It's a kind of freedom,” said Bongers. “Speed is relative on the autobahn.”
ping
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the amount of exhaust produced more a product of engine effort than speed? If that's the case, then wouldn't it be better to go fast and keep the engine at low RPM than going slow and having to accelerate/decelerate constantly?
looks like the germans don't like the enviro-weenies pi**in their corn flakes..
Couldn’t they just buy some “carbon” credits from Gore’s outfit and put the pedal to the metal?
I'm sure those will be next. After all, raising the animals that eventually become bratwurst and brewing the beer involves making evil carbon dioxide! </sarc>
"– a speed limit could be imposed tomorrow and at relatively little cost."
Only if you don't consider millions of wasted hours in the aggregate to be a cost.
The power required to push your car through the air is proportional to drag. Drag depends on the "drag coefficient" CD, densitiy of the fluid, velocity squared and frontal area S. If you double your speed, you require four times the energy to go through the air. Sure you'll get their in half the time, but the quadratic term dominates. Maybe your engine's efficiency will be 10% or 15% better at one speed or another, but that will be totally dominated by the velocity squared term.
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Funny thing. A few years ago I was in Ireland, traveling through the countryside by car. The posted speed limits were often beyond my ability to drive. A narrow, hairpin turn, country road had a 90 Kph limit. I couldn't navigate it at 40 Kph. But within town limits, they had reasonable limits - it made a lot more sense than the posted limits we have on our roads. 55 mph on limited access highways - who are they kidding? Quite safely, 70-80 is typical, unless blocked by a moronic jerk in the passing lane, or excessive traffic. The highways were designed for speed.
Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown
Ping me if you find one I've missed.
The Germans better give up their autobahn if they are going to make me buy a Prius.
Well - being a German from good old Europe I only allow me one form of real anti-Americanism:
Every time I pick up my relatives and friends from New York or elsewhere in the US at the airport I enjoy driving home with a minimum of 120 miles (not kilometers) per hour. This is the moment when (most - not all) steadfast Americans turn into shivering weiners hopping from one side of their seat to the other. Even French surrender monkeys have usually more balls than most of your compatriots then. Obviously you guys lack the erotic of speed.
Apart of that I am a faithful friend of America. ;)
you bet I don't
Carbon credit this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfFAZ5-P04I
I LOVE cars that make contrails.
see above posting Nr. 17 for a practical demonstration on what you need for V equals 24.4 m/s.
Not all Americans are as you describe. The first thing I did upon arrival in Germany is open it up on the Autobahn. The fact that I only had a 1.6L BMW just meant it took a bit longer and a slight downgrade to get above where I used to drive my Olds F85 station wagon as a teenager. The main difference was the BMW didn't feel like it was about to fall apart.
Wow! Thanks for posting the YouTube link. What did he say? 175 hp needed for 120 mph, then another 700 hp to get up to 250? Sounds roughly like a square law.
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