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RAS question

The German Autobahn is famous for having sections with no general speed limit. Which of the following statements about the Autobahn is CORRECT?

Correct answer: (D) The Autobahn is part of Germany's federal highway system and is maintained by the federal government; it inspired Dwight Eisenhower to create the US Interstate Highway System..

Germany's Autobahn is a federal motorway network now administered by the Federal Government, and Eisenhower's wartime experience of German autobahns helped shape his push for the United States Interstate Highway System.

  1. (A)

    The Autobahn is the world's longest motorway network, spanning over 100,000 km.

  2. (B)

    Approximately 30% of the Autobahn has no posted speed limit (Unrestricted sections).

  3. (C)

    The Autobahn was originally built under the administration of the Weimar Republic in 1919.

  4. (D)

    The Autobahn is part of Germany's federal highway system and is maintained by the federal government; it inspired Dwight Eisenhower to create the US Interstate Highway System.

Explanation

The Autobahn is best understood as Germany's federal motorway network, not simply as a road famous for fast driving. It is roughly 13,200 km long, and about 30% of its sections have no general speed limit. The Federal Trunk Road Authority states that since 1 January 2021 the Federal Government has had sole responsibility for planning, construction, operation, structural maintenance, asset management and funding of federal motorways. The Eisenhower Presidential Library supports the historical link: during World War II, General Eisenhower saw how easily traffic moved on German autobahns. That wartime experience, together with his experience in the 1919 convoy, convinced him that the United States needed safer, faster highways and strong national-defence infrastructure.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Option A gives a length of more than 100,000 km, but the Autobahn is about 13,200 km long, and the motorway networks of the United States and China are longer.
  • (B) The point that about 30% of the sections have no general speed limit is correct, but option B omits the federal administration and Eisenhower connection that make option D the fuller statement.
  • (C) The first Autobahn section was not a 1919 Weimar Republic project; its construction began in 1932, it was completed in 1935, and the network later expanded rapidly under Nazi rule.

Concept

This tests transport geography through the relationship among a national motorway network, government responsibility for running it and strategic road planning. RAS asks such examples because major transport networks connect physical geography with governance, defence and economic mobility.

Source

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