Summer heatwaves are becoming increasingly severe and this can cause the asphalt on older motorways to overheat and, in the worst case scenario, create very dangerous driving conditions.
To protect drivers and prevent so-called 'blow-ups' – where high temperatures can cause parts of the road to suddenly buckle – temporary speed limits have been put in place on some motorway sections in southern Germany until September.
Temperatures are forecast to climb to 38C in southern Germany by the middle of the week, according to the German Weather Service.
Hesse in central Germany was also affected earlier this summer when parts of the asphalt on the A5 motorway lifted and cracked as temperatures hit 39C.
Here are the motorway areas where a seasonal speed limit is currently in force:
- A3: Deggendorf Autobahn interchange to Hengersberg interchange
- A92: Oberschleißheim interchange to Eching-Ost interchange, Freising-Süd interchange to Freising-Ost interchange, and Landshut-West interchange to Dingolfing-Ost interchange
- A93: Saalhaupt triangle to Elsendorf interchange
READ ALSO: School closures to rail chaos - What happens when Germany is hit by extreme heat
According to Germany's Autobahn GmbH, which manages and maintains the country's motorway networks, these sections are particularly susceptible to heat damage due to their age, condition, and the high volume of traffic.
Most of Germany's motorways weren't built to withstand the kinds of sustained high temperatures the country is now experiencing regularly.
These new speed limits mean that cars up to 3.5 tonnes are only permitted to drive at a maximum of 120 km/h on the above stretches until September.
There's an even stricter speed limit for motorbikes, who are at higher risk if there is damage to the road, and heavy goods vehicles.
Both of these can only drive at a maximum of 80km/h on the affected stretches of road. There are road signs indicating where the speed limits are in place.
There are no binding speed limits on motorways in Germany, although the recommended limit is 130km/h.
There has been a long-standing debate about introducing a maximum speed on the Autobahn, but the current federal government agreed not to introduce one earlier this year.
The Social Democrats (SPD) had pushed for a limit of 130km/h, but were blocked by the Christian Union parties (CDU/CSU).
Although the idea of speed limits due to road damage isn't new, previously they've only been implemented for short periods and in extremely hot temperatures.
One example is the A7 motorway, which introduced speed limits last year between Feuchtwangen-West to Aalen/Oberkochen from mid-August to mid-September.
Comments