“We urgently need to take countermeasures” – Wissing warns of road congestion
“Driving a car means freedom”: Transport Minister Volker Wissing
Source: dpa/Annette Riedl
Transport Minister Volker Wissing fears that the roads in Germany could be as congested as the rails in the future. The FDP politician wants to prevent this with faster planning processes – but the Green Ministry of the Environment is against it. He still rejects a speed limit on the Autobahn.
VTransport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has warned that the roads in Germany could soon be as congested as the railways are today. “If we don’t want to experience similar conditions on the road as with the rails, we urgently need to take countermeasures here as well,” he said “Picture on Sunday”. “In Germany, not only the number of cars, but also freight traffic has increased constantly over the years. However, this was not followed up on either by rail or by road.”
Wissing thus followed up the dispute with Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) about faster planning procedures in the transport sector. Wissing would like the construction and expansion of roads in the future – like renewable energies – to be in the overriding public interest. This should make it easier to implement a project when the authorities and the courts weigh it up. The Ministry of the Environment is against it. It is feared that this will harm the environment. New motorways do not serve to achieve the climate goals, the opposite is the case, it said on Friday. The heads of the coalition are to deal with the topic on Thursday.
Wissing said congested highways would need to be widened with additional lanes. With regard to the climate protection led by the Greens, he said: “We must enable climate-neutral traffic on the road, with more electric cars and CO₂-neutral fuels, also in freight transport.” Wissing emphasized the importance of the car: “Driving a car means freedom, Flexibility and privacy, in rural areas and in old age also participation and self-determination. The Germans therefore rightly expect our roads to be in good condition.”
Last year, 3.7 billion tons of goods were transported on German autobahns, ten times as much as by rail. “In 2023 it will be another 50 million tons more.” Rail alone cannot absorb that. “Even if not everyone likes it: There will be more traffic on German roads and we have to deal with it. Otherwise the economy will soon come to a standstill and we will lose jobs.”
Wissing: There is no need for a speed limit in Germany
Wissing again spoke out against a general speed limit on German autobahns. “The pace is the personal responsibility of the citizens, as long as others are not endangered. The state should hold back here,” he said. There is no need for a speed limit in Germany. “High energy prices are already causing many people to drive more slowly. And with e-cars, people won’t drive as fast either, because they want to conserve their batteries.”
A speed limit, which as a result of the Ukraine war also came into focus as an opportunity to save energy, has been the subject of repeated arguments for years. In the traffic light coalition, the FDP opposes this. An introduction is therefore not agreed in the coalition agreement. In many other European countries, the maximum speed you can drive on motorways is 130 or 120 kilometers per hour.
