Germany's autobahns have always been an emotive issue. They are the only place in Europe where you can legally run a performance car flat out and, according to many enthusiasts, the reason why German performance-car brands are as strong as they are.
Now those ribbons of concrete (few autobahns are tarred) have become a political hot potato. You see, not all freeways in Germany are unrestricted; about 40 percent of the roads designated as autobahns carry a 130km/h speed limit, either temporarily or permanently, and, with elections coming up soon, the opposition SDP party has come out in favour of introducing a 120km/h limit over the entire network.
Don't tell Jeremy Clarkson, he'd have a fit.
SDP leader Sigmar Gabriel told Autocar statistics showed lower fatalities and serious injuries on the restricted autobahns (which is correct; if the ratio wasn't 60:40 we'd be seriously concerned) and cited that as a reason for dropping the boom on the open bahnen.
Worse still, the Green party has mooted an 80km/h speed limit on country roads - and there are rumours of an SDP-Green Party coalition of the SDP wins the election without a clear majority.
German automobile organisation ADAC, however, points out that Gabriel's argument is 'unsustainable'.
ADAC spokesperson Andreas Hölzel told Bild newspaper that autobahns are in fact safer than secondary roads. A third of Germany's road travel is done on autobahns, he said, yet only 11 percent of the country's serious road accidents and deaths occurred on these roads.
According to ADAC, 60 percent of road deaths in Germany occur on country roads; rather than impose arbitrary speed limits they want the authorities to replace dangerous intersections with traffic circles and widen country roads to provide passing lanes at accident 'black spots' such as blind rises.