Europe needs to become independent of Russian oil and gas as quickly as possible.

Luxembourg's Energy Minister Claude Turmes is therefore calling for a coordinated speed limit in addition to two EU-wide home office days.

Because slower cars use less fuel.

Together with car-free weekends in big cities, Turmes calculates that 2.5 million barrels of oil could be saved.

The proposal makes sense - in view of the impending oil embargo and the bottlenecks to be expected, every opportunity to save should be used.

But even after the war, a general speed limit in this country is overdue.

Germany is the only country in Europe where free citizens are still allowed to race freely on the Autobahn - if they are not driving into the next traffic jam or have to slow down to 80 because there is a construction site.

Nevertheless, every government has so far shied away from a speed limit;

even the traffic light, out of consideration for the FDP.

Fewer people would die

Slower cars burn less fuel, even in times of peace - with the corresponding consequences: According to a study by the Federal Environment Agency, a 130 km/h could reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tons, and a 120 km/h it would even be two million tons.

Stop it, the opponents of the speed limit counter: That's marginal;

what you save in fuel in a month, the rest of the world does in ten minutes!

But on the one hand, given the drama of the climate crisis, every tonne of CO2 saved counts.

On the other hand, in a country that likes to boast of its pioneering role in climate protection, there can be no argument that the rest of the world doesn't care about CO2 emissions either.

And as for another popular argument of the opponents, the number of accidents: it may even be that the number will not fall blatantly.

But even if just a few fewer people died, wouldn't that be reason enough?

The majority of Germans are in favor of a speed limit

According to a study by the Institute of German Economics, 77 percent of drivers are already driving slower than 130 km/h on open roads. This could also be an argument for the opponents – why still regulate by law, which has long been the rule anyway, and a quarter the car driver gossip?

The reverse is also true: Why not make binding for everyone what a majority of Germans already consider sensible?

According to a recent poll, the majority of Germans are in favor of a speed limit;

even in a recent survey of ADAC members, 50 percent were in favour.

In any case, the mobility behavior of Germans will change significantly.

Many of the younger generation no longer have a car and prefer to travel by train.

And once our e-cars are controlled by computers that autonomously accelerate on the freeway, keep their distance and avoid traffic jams in an affectless and efficient manner, then this is likely to further profane the status of the car: away from an emotionalized distinctive feature towards one means of transport among many.

One can find that a pity, but the end of the German special path will come one way or another.

Perhaps Putin's war is a catalyst for the realization that freedom isn't measured by the angle of the gas pedal.