All over Europe, a heat wave from North Africa has been making itself felt. Given the high temperatures that have been recorded, many governments have decided to take exceptional measures. One of these governments was the German that decided reduce speed limits on the Autobahn.
No, the measure is not intended to prevent damage to cars on the Autobahn, but rather to prevent accidents. German authorities fear that the high temperatures could cause breakage and deformation of the floor, so they opted to “play it safe”.
The limits of 100 and 120 km/h were imposed on some older sections of the famous Autobahn, more precisely those built with concrete, which, according to the German newspaper Die Welt, can see the floor “explode”.
Limits may not stop there
As the German website The Local claims, the possibility of imposing more speed limits if the heat wave continues to make itself felt has not been ruled out. In 2013, cracks on a German highway caused by the heat caused an accident that caused the death of a motorcyclist and several injuries.
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Interestingly, earlier this year the Autobahn sections without speed limits had been in the crosshairs. At issue was the idea that imposing speed limits would help reduce emissions.