It wasn't really a page one story.....I doubt if it even made page 3 of most German newspapers....for yesterday. N-TV told a good bit of the story and I'd recommend a read.
The vote came up in the Bundestag....to lower the speed limit (from unlimited) to a max of 130 kph. It was introduced by the Green Party. Virtually all of the Greens, and Linke Party voted for the speed limit. The CDU-CSU folks, the SPD, the AfD, and FDP.....voted down the measure.
Chancellor Merkel? She made a direct comment in this case....at this moment, the limit wasn't necessary.
Public support? You can find a few polls around which suggest a majority (maybe just over 50-percent) of Germans believe some limit might be necessary on the autobahns.
The problem in this discussion was that the Greens also wanted two-lane roads (the b-class) to be lowered from 100 kph (62 mph) to 80 kph (50 mph) and in highly urbanized areas.....down to 30 kph (19 mph). Once you bring this idea....I suspect the polling numbers rapidly decrease. I personally doubt that you can find more than 5-percent of the population who'd agree to that type of measure.
Now, if you asked Germans.....when driving on the autobahns....how fast do you normally drive, most will answer in the 110 to 130 kph range. Most will also admit that weather conditions dictate their speed in more than 50-percent of the occasions.
In the 34-degree C temperatures....I'm awful fearful of 'buckling' (where the pavement loosens and comes loose). At 1-degree C, with fine mist on the pavement, I'm fearful of 'black ice' on the road.
So, is this the end of the discussion? No. It'll probably come up again in 2021. Eventually, I think that various German states will pick up the matter, and just limit the speed within their state. You will end up with five or six states that stay unlimited, and the rest settle upon 130 kph.
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