Also from our foreign news department, Austria is to introduce an experimental speed limit on one motorway section of 160kph (100mph), up from the country's current motorway limit of 130kph.
Transport minister Hartwig Hufnagl said the move would go ahead before the middle of 2006, and that a section of road with a good surface, and few gradients or curves would be selected for the test. The limit will be shown on electronic boards, which will indicate a lower limit in bad weather.
The response from the usual suspects, including the Green Party, has been that accidents will increase. In particular, the Traffic Club of Austria said 40 per cent of fatal accidents since the start of 2005 were caused by drivers exceeding speed limits. The Club didn't however say whether they were urban or motorway limits.
So that's a good argument, then. It also ignores the experience of a similar experiment in Denmark in 2004. The limit was raised to 130kph, resulting in accident rates falling.
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