Coming to the Autobahn This Week: Speed Limits

Thanks to Europe's heat wave
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2019 1:43 PM CDT
Coming to the Autobahn This Week: Speed Limits
In this Sept. 5, 2017, photo a giant poster of German Chancellor Angela Merkel sits at the Autobahn crossing near Hermsdorf, eastern Germany.   (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Germany's famously fast Autobahn won't be quite so fast this week. Due to the record-breaking heat wave currently sweeping over Europe, German officials have decided to impose speed limits on some portions of the country's motorways that typically have no limit. They're concerned that the unusually high temperatures will cause roadways to crack, which could be dangerous for drivers traveling at high speeds, Fortune reports. As of Wednesday, speed limits are as low as 62mph in some areas. And Fox News notes that in Paris, gasoline-powered vehicles built before 2006 and diesel-powered vehicles built before 2011 have been banned amid the high temperatures, which can exacerbate pollution. Germany recorded its highest-ever June temperature Wednesday, CNN reports. (The heat wave could set all-time high records incredibly early in the summer.)

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