Discussion Paper on Fuel Prices and Driving Speeds on the German Autobahn
"No matter how fast you are driving in Germany, someone is driving faster than you," Tom Hanks told show host David Letterman about his experiences on the German Autobahn. Hanks was referring to the lack of a general speed limit on the German Autobahn. On many sections - and if the traffic allows it - an absolutely free choice of speed is therefore possible. But what about the speed decision when fuel prices increase?
In their article "No Need for Speed: Fuel Prices, Driving Speeds and the revealed Value of Time on the German Autobahn", Thomas Hagedorn, Till Kösters, Sebastian Specht and Jan Wessel analyze this relationship between fuel prices and driving speeds on the German Autobahn. The results of the empirical regression analysis provide differentiated answers with regard to individual speed decisions on sections with and without speed limits, fuel demand, and the value of travel time on the German Autobahn.