Speed kills - that's the message from government and safety experts. So how do Germans survive on no-limit autobahns? John Cassidy reports
There's no disputing it: German roads are far superior to Irish ones. For a start, there are the autobahns, over 12,000 kilometers of motorway swathing the country, all toll-free.
What's more, on many there is no mandatory speed limit - and no shortage of drivers who show little restraint in pressing the metal into the shag pile carpets of their Mercs and BMWs.
Even without trying to emulate Michael Schumacher, it's possible to get from Bonn in the west to Dresden in the east in the time it takes us to negotiate our way from Dublin to west Cork.
A speed of nearly 145mph might seem like space travel to Irish drivers, but it's not unheard of - though not the norm - on the autobahns. It's also instructive to note that, while the traffic Polizei won't flinch at speeds that would earn a court appearance here, they will stop and fine those who habitually sit - Irish style - in the overtaking lane. The emphasis is on driver awareness.
Misplaced priorities, surely? Doesn't speed kill? Statistics suggest that Germany still has fewer road fatalities per head than we do. A National Road Authority international comparison shows that Ireland had 10.7 fatalities per 100,000 of population in 2001, whereas Germany had 8.5.
To put it in perspective, Britain fared best in the study with 6.1, while Portugal had the worst record with an unenviable 21. So, speed is not the only factor.
Wolfgang Steichele, a spokesperson for the German motoring organisation, the ADAC, agrees. Speaking to Motors from his Munich office, he pointed out that, although the autobahns carry one-third of Germany's traffic, only 12.5 per cent of road deaths occur on them. He added that about 20 per cent of heavy vehicles and 5 per cent of cars are through-traffic from other countries.
But can having no speed limits really be safe? "That's a matter of personal opinion," says Steichele. The German public is divided on the issue - one half wants some kind of limit, the other favours the status quo.
"Statistically it has been shown that motorways are the safest roads, he says. "Speed limits exist in areas where there are buildings close by, or spots where it's known that accidents occur. We have variable limits in places where it's very busy."
About 70 per cent of autobahns have no mandatory limit, he says, adding that ADAC research has shown that real speeds travelled on other continental motorways were not that different to those of Germany - he cites Belgium, France, Italy and Austria in particular.
Steichele doesn't envisage any imminent blanket introduction. So, perhaps the Germans are just more pragmatic?
Conor Faughan of the AA feels that "the notion of having stretches of road with no speed limit at all would be, to our mind, inappropriate." He contends that we should look to the example of Britain rather than Germany as far as road safety is concerned. "Statistically you are something like 80 per cent more likely to die on an Irish road than a British one - so it's clear we have a long way to go."
Faughan sees the primary causes of road deaths in Ireland as "speeding, drinking and failure to wear seat belts", but he agrees that the poor state of our road network is a contributory factor.
Do some of our few decent roads have ridiculously low limits? "The AA calls this Belfield Flyover Syndrome," says Faughan, referring to the stretch of dual carriageway on which many motorists have been caught in a 40mph Garda speed trap. Such anomalies should be addressed, he says, in the switchover from miles to kilometres per hour, which is due to take place in October.
The AA spokesman has, in fact, served on a working group set up by the minister to oversee this transition. The issue of inappropriate limits has been raised - particularly in the context of penalty points - and a list of examples presented to the minister. These should be reassessed as part of the overall process, which will see the motorway speed limit increase to 120kph (75mph) while reducing present 60mph limit - currently in place on many of our worst boreens - to 80kph (50 mph).
Even if this reappraisal stops short of embracing the German model, it should apply some degree of logic to the vexed issue of signage on our roads. Hopefully, the result will be speed limits that take some general account of the type of roads on which they are set.