Speed Limit 30: Wissing wants more flexibility for municipalities - and receives praise

The German Association of Cities has responded positively to the announcement by the new Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) to grant cities and municipalities more leeway in establishing widespread 30 km/h zones. Helmut Dedy, the General Manager of the German Association of Cities, welcomed statements made by the Minister of Transport to the German Press Agency last week. The politician told the Tagesspiegel in an interview that he wanted to make it easier for cities to introduce a 30 km/h speed limit on their streets.

"We are concerned with greater safety for cyclists and pedestrians, simplified parking space management, and more flexible possibilities for 30 km/h zones in cities. Assessing on-site whether, when, and which measures for sustainable mobility are necessary and feasible is a good approach. We hope that the Ministry of Transport will soon initiate the necessary steps for this," Dedy now explained. 

He generally sees adjusted speeds on-site as an important foundation for livable cities. To achieve this, municipalities must be enabled to impose a 30 km/h speed limit on individual streets within urban areas independent of special danger situations, Dedy further demanded. Over 70 municipalities have now joined an initiative from some cities. They want to investigate in pilot projects how a general speed limit of 30 km/h would affect road traffic, with 50 km/h only allowed on main traffic roads. Wissing's predecessor Andreas Scheuer (CSU) had still denied these pilot projects to the municipalities.

Federal Environment Agency: 30 km/h hardly slows down, helps a lot

According to the findings of the Federal Environment Agency, a 30 km/h speed limit contributes to less noise pollution, cleaner air, fewer accidents, and better quality of stay in cities. The average speed would hardly decrease. The frequently claimed "diversion traffic" onto side streets hardly presents a problem, according to the top environmental authority's analysis. The impact on the "green wave" or public transportation must still be investigated.

Regarding accidents, Siegfried Brockmann, head of accident research at the German Insurance Association (GDV), also recently emphasized that the difference between 50 and 30 km/h is significant and can mean the difference between life and death. The GDV recently found in an analysis of actual speeds in four major German cities that speed limits are often only adhered to in front of fixed speed cameras. Even during a so-called speed camera marathon for one day in Cologne, drivers were more disciplined, but the next day drove significantly faster again.

Narrowing street spaces

Traffic psychologist Karl-Friedrich Voss from Hannover highlighted the aspect of street space design to Spiegel Online. He argued for a different focus in street design, such as creating a density at danger points instead of broad and long straight sections.

"Almost everywhere, speeding occurs where there are wide, long, and straight streets," explained the scientist.

Even narrowing the streets reduces the risk of accidents, as shown by the example of the UK, where this is standard, he argued. Then, rules are not just followed for their own sake, but because the situation makes them necessary and understandable. The psychologist also considered it problematic that revenues from fines are not used for traffic safety but flow into the general budgets of municipalities.

Agora: Adjust road traffic laws

Christian Hochfeld, Director of Agora Verkehrswende, also urged the Minister to take action on the 30 km/h speed limit and to adjust road traffic laws.

"I expect the Federal Minister of Transport to give municipalities the freedom to do more for sustainable mobility and for a better quality of life," explained the head of the renowned think tank.

Wissing had meanwhile opposed a general 30 km/h speed limit within urban areas. On important connecting roads, the speed must not be so reduced that traffic comes to a halt, the Minister asserted. However, the 30 km/h speed limit is gaining ground across Europe: after Paris and Brussels, with a few exceptions on main roads, the speed limit is generally 30 km/h on municipal roads in Spain with only one lane in each direction.

Speeding within urban areas is common in Germany

Recently, Spiegel Online compared the permitted and actual speeds in 40 German cities based on data from the navigation specialist TomTom and found that speeding is common, especially at night and on wide ring and arterial roads. The fastest speeds were recorded in Dresden, Halle, and Kiel, often over 40 km/h in 30 km/h zones and over 60 km/h in 50 km/h zones. Data from Copenhagen, Oslo, and Zurich, used for comparison, show that speed violations are much less frequent there than in Germany. Drastic fines are imposed in Switzerland: over 100 euros for exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h. In Germany, it is only 30 euros.