Speed limits in Germany
In 1973, in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, a federal speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) on Autobahns was imposed to help conserve fuel for fear of impending future shortages (not for environmental or safety reasons). The measure only lasted from December 1973 to March 1974; while the administration and the Bundestag were in favor of keeping the speed limit, the Bundesrat pushed to repeal the law. As a compromise, a "recommended speed" was introduced on Autobahns and "highways outside of built-up areas with a center divide or without a center divide and a continuous lane for overtaking in both directions". This law is basically still in effect today. Unrestricted non-Autobahn highways, however, have since become virtually non-existent or replaced by "Schnellstraßen", Autobahn-like expressways typically limited to 120 or 130 km/h and normally only covering a few kilometers.
Reichsautobahn
A speed limit of had been imposed in May 1939 to save fuel; during the war this was lowered to , and private cars were allowed on the autobahns only in exceptional circumstances. (By 1943, traffic was so low that bicycles were permitted.) Other than official traffic, which picked up toward the end of the war, the autobahns were used for some deliveries of tank parts and finished U-boats and motor-boats, and as runways for fighter planes, including in one case for final assembly and test flights of Messerschmitt Me 262s after the factories in Augsburg and Regensburg were bombed. As the war progressed, vehicles were at risk of strafing by Allied aircraft. However, most damage to the autobahns was caused late in the war by the retreating Wehrmacht, which blew up numerous bridges in an effort to slow the Allied advance; on March 19, 1945, Hitler ordered the destruction in retreat of "all military, transportation, news, industrial, and provisions facilities".