Jeremy Clarkson is a man of many and often strong opinions. In an episode of The Grand Tour, he was quoted as saying that free speed is much better than speed limits.
Jeremy Clarkson has stated that free speed on motorways is better than speed limits. According to him, it is safer because drivers can focus on the road rather than keeping an eye on signs.
"Speed saves lives. Drivers don't have to look at speed signs all the time and can instead focus on the road. In England, there are so many speed signs that we are forced to look at the signs more than at the road," says Clarkson.
Clarkson is known as one of the former hosts of the British motoring program Top Gear , where he worked alongside James May and Richard Hammond from 2002 to 2015. He was later fired by the BBC due to poor conduct and statements that the BBC considered unacceptable.
Following his dismissal, Clarkson returned to the television screen with a new show, The Grand Tour , where he re-formed the trio with May and Hammond. The show has been a combination of success and controversy, and the trio have since left the project .
In a 2020 episode, Clarkson argued for free speed on motorways, which he believed would benefit the economy and safety.
"Germany's economy has grown twice as much as Britain's over the past 15 years. That's because we drive 40 km/h on the roads and the Germans drive 300 km/h," he said.
James May, his now former colleague, agrees:
– Do all drivers drive 250 km/h where there is free speed? No, of course not. And not everyone rushes into the love cage in a zoo just because someone forgot to lock the cage door. Here in Germany it is not chaos on the autobahn, even though there is free speed on many stretches.
The German Bundestag voted in 2019 to introduce speed limits on the autobahn. But a large majority rejected the proposal.
498 voted against, while 126 voted in favor. Approximately 70 percent of Germany's 12,174 km motorway network still has no speed limit, and statistics show that the autobahn has one of the world's lowest fatality rates.
Although many accident causes can be explained by factors other than speed, Clarkson and his colleagues often discuss the topic.
In an experiment, they tried to reach their top speeds. Richard Hammond reached 249 km/h in a Jaguar F-Pace, Clarkson reached 239 km/h in a Range Rover, and James May was distracted by his camera showing engine rpm instead of speed.
Clarkson jokingly concluded with a comment:
– May is an idiot, so knock him out of the race.
