140 km/h: after Poland and Bulgaria, now Austria

130 km/h is the standard speed limit on motorways in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. In Poland you can drive 10 km/h faster, and since August 1st the same goes for two stretches on the Austrian A1.

The increased speed limit is part of a controversial experiment. It applies on a 60-km stretch in both directions between Salzburg and Vienna - and only between 5 AM and 10 PM. Environmentalists and safety organisations express their deepest concern about this project, which is nothing but the personal realisation of an electoral promise made by FPÖ minister Norbert Hofer.

Political party FPÖ justifies the measure by stating that cars have evolved both in terms of technology and safety. A 10 km/h increase could save valuable time. The Austrian motoring club ÖAMTC denies there is a correlation between speed and the number of road casualties, thereby referring to neighbour Germany, where there are no speed limits on certain parts of the motorway.

If the experiment proves a success - i.e. there won't be an increase in the number of severe accidents over the next year - chances are the number of stretches with a 140 km/h limit will increase.