Free Republic

BERLIN -- An EU official called on Germany to give up the famous freedom of its highways and impose speed limits on the autobahn to fight global warming -- a demand that drew angry responses on Sunday in a country that cherishes what it calls "free driving for free citizens." The call came as the German government makes action against climate change a priority of its current presidencies of the EU and Group of Eight. Still, the German environment minister showed little enthusiasm for EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas' suggestion and a group representing the country's auto industry said it...

BLAST KILLS ONE World War II Bomb Explodes on German Motorway A highway construction worker in Germany accidentally struck an unexploded World War II bomb, causing an explosion which killed him and wrecked several passing cars. A World War II bomb has exploded during construction work on a German highway, killing one worker and injuring several motorists who were driving past, police said. The worker had been cutting through the road surface near the south-western town of Aschaffenburg when his machine struck the bomb and triggered it. Police said they weren't sure yet what type of bomb it was. "The...

Man drives wheelchair on autobahn From correspondents in Berlin July 27, 2005 From: Reuters TRUCK drivers in Germany were shocked to find themselves sharing a busy motorway with an 80-year-old pensioner travelling at extremely low speeds in a wheelchair, authorities said on Tuesday. "He wanted to go shopping at a service area up the road from his home," said a spokeswoman for police in the eastern town of Goerlitz. "He took to the hard shoulder in an electric wheelchair capable of speeds of between 6-10 km/h." Several passing truckers alerted police, who were on hand to pick the man up...

WASHINGTON (AP) — States that raised their speed limits to 70 mph or more saw a dramatic increase in the number of people killed in traffic accidents, according to a report released Monday by an auto safety group funded by insurers. The study, compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and based on data collected by the Land Transport Safety Authority of New Zealand, determined 1,880 more people died between 1996 and 1999 in the 22 states with higher speed limits. A separate review of six states by the institute found drivers traveling the fastest they have since long...

It began raining cash on the German autobahn on Wednesday, leading to a major traffic jam and road closure, police said. A 42-year-old motorist left a briefcase full of tens of thousands of euros in cash on the roof of his car and drove off onto the highway in the western city of Bochum, sending the bills flying. Because drivers stopped their vehicles in the middle of the road to collect the money, the autobahn was blocked for about 10 minutes. Of the original sum, police were only able to recover about 3,000 euros. The briefcase was missing and police...