European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 mentality on the autobahn excessive Speed during fog was blamed for this recent Accident on the Berlin Nornberg autobahn which involved More than200 cars. Eleven were killed and More than so were seriously injured. By Marc Fisher Washington Post. T is against the Law in Germany to squeeze tomatoes in Public markets use a Lawn Mower Between midday saturday and monday or choose a name for a Newborn that is not on the official government Register. But cruise onto one of the country a highways and you Are finally free. Quot free driving for free citizens a a generation of politicians has promised the people. In a society where Laws dominate and sometimes strangle Day to Day living you can always take to the open Road and floor it. Now the government is rethinking even that after a particularly grisly fortnight on the German autobahn. Recently in a 200-car pileup on a fog shrouded stretch of the Berlin to Nurnberg freeway 11 people were killed and More than 50 seriously injured. Three More accidents a All in the past two weeks All in fog a added 181 vehicles 14 deaths and 104 injuries to the tally. It was a Good time the government figured to suggest that perhaps the country might be ready for a 38 Mph 60 Kph Speed limit a in fog Only. Not a Chance. The idea of limiting a Drivers right to go As fast As he dares on the country s freeways has raised a thick Cloud of protest from the automobile clubs car makers and the driving Public. Even transportation minister Frederich Zimmermann a who was recently followed by a reporter from Tempo Magazine and clocked driving 55 Mph in a Small towns 50 Kph 31.1 Mph zone a still believes that in general Quot Speed limits Are  but he a willing to make an exception for fog. The biggest National Auto club for one is not. Quot we oppose any exact limit Quot says Andreas Kippe spokesman for Germany s powerful adar. Quot we say Drivers Are sensible enough to slowdown when they see fog. If you pass a Law with a specific limit then people May go that Speed even if the conditions require slower driving Quot a and even if some fog Rule gets passed a Don t bet the farm on it a Germany is firmly resisting a general Speed Kippe says German freeways Many of which were built originally in the massive nazi Public works projects of the 1930s, Are so Well designed that Speed limits Are unnecessary. He notes that although 30 percent of German traffic travels on the autobahn Only 4 percent of the country a accidents take place on those roads. Quot its not just German Drivers who like to drive fast Quot he says. A there Are americans and others who come to Germany for vacation so they can drive As fast As they wish. It s a Basic desire of Man to feel this emotional Power of acceleration and  Stefanie Rosenkranz knows about that emotional Power. She just returned from a Long and nerve racking autobahn trip from Hamburg to Brussels and Back chugging along at the shamefully slow Speed of 65 Mph in her trusty Little citroen 2cv, an awkward waddling 27-horsepower tin can nicknamed Quot the  Rosenkranz a reporter for Stern Magazine made her journey to report on the Lovely giving patient ways of her fellow German Drivers the folks in the Mercedess bows and porsche shooting along the left Lane at 100, 120,140 Mph their headlights and turn signals flashing madly at anyone who dared to Block their Way. Quot the essence of democracy in Germany is not free speech but free Speed Quot Rosenkranz says. Quot is it rational to drive 210 Kilometres an hour 130 Mph in fog no its asinine. But in a country where everything is regulated and you need to fill out 10 forms to do anything this is the outlet for All aggression. Germans Are so orderly in their daily lives but on the Road they Are out to  Rosenkranz finished her trip soaked in sweat and in desperate need of a soothing cup of Tea. Quot its human sacrifice on the  along the Way she had lights flashed in her eyes Mercedess Riding on her rear fender and All manner of obscene gestures tossed her Way. The gestures a this is Germany after All a Are illegal. It is utterly routine to be hauled into court for flipping the Bird at a fellow Motorist Quot the German Driver is More pig headed than others Quot said Cologne traffic psychologist Udo Undeutsch. A in addition Many of them take being passed As a personal defeat. The germans have a tendency to try to teach others something in traffic even if Means putting their own car and their own life at  the Racetrack mentality persists despite Sharp increases in the number of accidents and deaths in the months since the path Tiu plodding East German trabant began sharing the roads with super powered West German luxury car  part of Germany Highway Deathe jumper by 74 percent in foe first nine months of 1990 the Western part of the country suffered a 30 percent Rise in accidents. J a germans Are of course not the Only people who like to drive fast. . Soldiers who Servic in Germany quickly Start driving As fast As the germans do says Wilhelm Leitzbach director of the traffic affairs Institute in Karlsruhe. He believes the difference Between German rules of the Road and those of the rest of the world is not one of National character but of simple economics. Quot the germans have a very Strong and powerful car Industry that depends on having no Speed limit Quot he says. A the Auto Industry would lose one of its Best Selling Points in the Export markets that they have to build cars so Well to serve a Germany without Speed  numerous campaigns to impose Speed limits have flopped. Environmentalists argue that slower speeds will reduce exhaust and help save Germany s beloved forests. Safety experts Promise fewer deaths with slower traffic. Psychologists explain the connection Between stress and the White knuckle life in the left Lane. Nothing doing. The latest National poll shows that a majority of germans simply do not believe that Speed limits would lower exhaust noise or stress. The same poll shows that germans also done to believe that Speed limits would Hurt the Auto Industry improve Road manners or steal Drivers valuable time. No they just done to want anyone telling them How fast to drive. Even the country a major Auto club has joined in the search for something deep in the German soul that explains the National passion for Speed. Quot it is a compensation for the Many restrictions in our daily life Quot Kippe says. Quot and there was a study that said the greater your sexual problems the faster you like to drive. There May be a spark of truth to  that was the spokesman for the Auto club speaking. \ monday november 12, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13