Proponents of unlimited speed Autobahn could argue: 1. The tourism value: I anecdotally know people visit Germany just for the Autobahn. (See Nürburgring, which is technically an Autobahn) 2. Sale of performance cars: The high actual minimum speed (from my experience you need to drive at around 150km/h in the middle lane, and 180-200km/h to pass on the left lane). Almost anywhere else in the world, the top speed of cars is irrelevant. In Germany, however, high performance cars (inevitably, German brand ones) can be desired for their better handling at speeds at or above 200km/h. 3. Germans collectively have excellent driving mannerisms and skills which were a result of unlimited speed. It is probably true that enforcing a speed limit today would decrease deaths, but the next generation would then regress to the mean. I would be interested to see someone quantify the above points and compare them with the economic costs discussed in the OP article.