Germany: The Conflict between Automobility and Environmental Protection

Abstract

Germany is a country full of contradictions, and that is also true in passenger transport. Prior to reunification in 1990, West Germany had the highest rate of car ownership in Europe, and the second highest in the world, surpassed only by the USA. East Germany had by far the highest rate of car ownership of any Socialist country. Since reunification, Germany continues to have more cars per capita than all but a few countries. Moreover, its system of limited access superhighways, the autobahns, is the most extensive in Europe and is the only highway system in the world without a general speed limit. Indeed, one sometimes has the impression that the autobahns are racetracks rather than highways. Repeated attempts to legislate a general speed limit for the autobahns have been vigorously opposed by various interest groups and the majority of German voters.