{"id":190591,"date":"2019-10-12T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-10-12T07:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=190591"},"modified":"2019-10-12T09:00:29","modified_gmt":"2019-10-12T07:00:29","slug":"electric-cars-are-allowed-to-drive-faster-in-austria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/electric-cars-are-allowed-to-drive-faster-in-austria\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric cars are allowed to drive faster in Austria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Incentives to promote e-mobility are available in many European countries. In most cases, it is the tax reductions and subsidies on purchases that should make it easier for citizens to make the switch to e-cars. When the Austrian federal government recently exempted e-cars from the 100 kph speed limit on routes marked out as ‘air protection zones<\/em>‘,\u00a0 it was unique across Europe.<\/p>\n

In Austria, sections of highways and expressways with a total length of 440 kilometers are listed as air protection zones<\/em>. They are subject to a speed limit of 100 kph. The slower diesel and petrol-driven cars drive, the less CO2 they emit. This is regulated in the Immissionschutzgesetz-Luft<\/em> act (IG-L, legislation designed to protect the air from harmful traffic emissions).<\/p>\n

Road safety<\/h3>\n

E-cars drive for the most part emission-free. With the rising numbers of e-cars on the road, it was therefore only a matter of time before the speed limit was called into question. The debate was initiated by Tyrolean lawyer Christian Sch\u00f6ffthaler. In 2014, he deliberately exceeded the speed limit in order to be able to lodge a complaint with the regional administrative court. The court subsequently dismissed the complaint. Their argument: Different speed limits for passenger cars can interrupt the flow of traffic and thereby jeopardize road safety.<\/p>\n

Incentive for e-cars<\/h3>\n

Sch\u00f6ffthaler’s lawsuit was soon followed by others. But the courts remained difficult. This was different at the Bundesministerium f\u00fcr Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus <\/em>(the BMNT, Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism). The then Minister Elisabeth K\u00f6stinger of the Austrian People’s Party saw the suspension of the speed limit for e-cars as an incentive. She brought the new IG-L regulation into force in November 2018. The actual implementation date did not take place until 1 July 2019, when the traffic signs were placed on the relevant sections of the routes.<\/p>\n

Introduction of the Lufthundert<\/em><\/h3>\n