Transport Minister against zero-alcohol limit, speed limit and senior driving tests

Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder does not want to lower the blood alcohol limit to 0.0 per mille. "Of course, I recommend driving without any alcohol," the CDU politician told the Funke media group newspapers. However, he considers the current 0.5 per mille limit to be "sufficient and effective."

“At many social events, people toast each other and take a sip out of politeness – without endangering traffic,” said Schnieder.

The minister considers another drug to be more problematic: "I'm very critical of cannabis. I consider its effects on traffic to be relatively unpredictable. We need to take a close look at this during this legislative period."

Schnieder doesn't think a speed limit is necessary. "The average speed on German motorways isn't even 115 kilometers per hour," he said. There are alreadyspeed limits in many places, and there are also construction zones and traffic jams. "You can only drive really fast on a few stretches in Germany. Therefore, I consider a general speed limit on motorways unnecessary."

The minister, who privately drives an electric car in his home region of the Eifel, is equally skeptical about mandatory driving tests for older drivers: "Seniors don't pose any particular risk in road traffic. If we compare the age groups, we tend to have a problem with the very young."

The Federal Statistical Office found for 2023 that, relative to their share of the total population, older people were less likely to be involved in traffic accidents than younger people – partly because, for example, they no longer drive to work. However, when older people were involved in an accident resulting in personal injury, they were more often primarily responsible than younger drivers, especially if they were over 75 years old.