Speed Limit 80kmh - Pollution Ahead
The car is an enduring symbol of personal freedom. Small wonder then, that in many countries attempts to place restrictions around car usage are fiercely resisted.
The City of London has faced stern opposition over its new congestion charges (even being threatened with legal action from Porsche), the Germans refuse to bow to pressure from environmental groups to put speed limits on their unrestricted autobahns, speed cameras are branded as a universal menace and Detroit automakers have been vigorously opposed to a national fleet average fuel consumption figure of 35mpg.
The super environmentally conscious nation of Switzerland puts a healthy environment above the freedom of the highway. This week, motorists in the Italian thinking region of Switzerland may drive no faster than 80kmh to compensate for high levels of air pollution in the region.
Typically, air pollution levels increases during dry weather, or during cold spells as heating units work overtime. A nationwide network of measurement stations constantly monitors air pollution, and motorists are instructed to slow down as necessary in order to offset pollution levels. The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment provide constant pollution updates via their website - see inset, and note the high pollution levels in the South - which is also available in English for the benefit of EcoWorldly readers.
Remarkably, nobody complains at these measures which would have the potential to topple governments in other countries. Even more unusually, people actually comply with the lower limits!
See also:
Fine-particle pollution worries authorities, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment
When I was living in Trentino / the Alto Adige, I was told that drivers with even-numbered license plates and drivers with odd-numbered license plates would take turns being able to drive: one day even, one day odd. Everyone seemed to understand the importance of this otherwise very interfering measure. They lived in a valley and the smog built to unhealthy levels quickly.