Friday, March 16, 2007

Speed Limit Has German Blood at 178 m.p.h. Boil

With a stretch of empty road ahead, Mr. Bongers floored the gas pedal, and within seconds the speedometer registered 286 kilometers an hour (178 m.p.h.) — something that is still legal here. That, by way of comparison, is about the speed of a commercial jet taking off.



Few things are closer to the German heart than the freedom to drive like Michael Schumacher, the fabled Formula One champion. Rule-bound and risk-averse in so many other ways, Germans regard driving on the autobahn at face-peeling speeds as close to an inalienable right.



Now, though, Germany’s love of speed is colliding with its fears about global warming, as it becomes clear that its Sunday race-car drivers are spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the air.







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