KO Danninger ad Grüne-Krismer: A clear no to new speed limits for cars with combustion engines

2023-10-02 13:59:31

Next attack on everyone who can’t afford an electric car today

St. Pölten (OTS) – “Anyone who considers the demand of the Greens of Lower Austria’s new campaign will be amazed: 100 km/h limit for vehicles with combustion engines on Austria’s motorways. Only someone whose horizon ends at the Vienna city limits can seriously demand this and post it. The broad middle of the population rejects such paternalism. This is nothing other than another attempt to use green ideology to restrict the freedom of life of people in Austria – at the expense of commuters who rely on a car. At the same time, half the world is already laughing at us because of the European Union’s stubborn ban on combustion engines. We need openness to technology and not a dictate about what is good and what is bad. By lowering the speed limit, our commuters would spend almost an additional working week on the motorway. “For purely ideological reasons, this is stealing a lot of time and nerves from drivers, which they could use more sensibly and productively in the interests of climate protection,” said club chairman Jochen Danninger about the new nationwide campaign by the Lower Austrian Greens for new speed limits for vehicles with combustion engines.

“With the Lower Austria People’s Party there will be no general 100 km/h speed limit on our motorways. Drivers don’t use their vehicles for fun – but to go to work, to school or to go shopping. Any additional burden must be rejected – this is precisely why we continue to fight against the increase in CO2 pricing despite high fuel prices,” said club chairman Danninger.

There is already a speed limit of at least 100 km/h on a third of the entire motorway network in Austria. So it’s about the remaining two thirds of the ASFINAG route network, which the Greens want to add an additional limit. According to ÖAMTC calculations, this measure would reduce CO2 emissions in the entire transport sector by just one to three percent. However, the travel time increases considerably. For commuters who travel 30 kilometers on the highway every day, this results in a time loss of 34 hours over a working year.