Speed controls – how construction sites degenerated into legalized rip-off

In a country that likes to present itself as a model boy of technocratic efficiency and transparency in the rule of the law, a different picture emerges on the motorways – one of systematic deception, administrative arbitrariness and fiscal opportunism. What is officially sold as a necessary measure to protect construction workers and to ensure road safety is revealedon closer inspection as a perfidious instrument for skimming off additional income under the cloak of state authority. Citizens are no longer treated as road users, but as solvent targets of a machinery whose true motivation is no longer in the public interest.

The illusion of occupational safety

The justification for drastic speed limits in construction site areas is always the same: protection of employees. But those who drive through such zones with open eyes often hardly see a single worker for weeks. Instead, empty containers protrude into the landscape, disused construction machines are rusting away, and kilometers of track narrowings remain, although obviouslyno activity takes place. This discrepancy between claimed necessity and visible reality not only creates anger, but deep distrust. If there were actually danger, one would logically have to expect a high presence of staff – but exactly the opposite is the case. The alleged protection of the workers therefore acts like a facade behind which other intereststo be hidden.

Construction sites without end – planning or profit?

The duration of many motorway construction sites borders on the absurd. For months, sometimes years, a distance remains narrowed without being recognizable as to what is actually being done there. In other countries, such work is finished in weeks or a few months. The planning therefore seems arbitrary, and communication about it is insufficient at best, but usually completely non-existent. There is often noneclear timelines, no binding milestones, no public accounts for progress or delays. Instead, traffic is systematically hindered, detours are cleverly placed and travel times are unnecessarily extended – all under the pretext of safety. But if no one works, why are the restrictions? The obvious answer is: So that the speed cameras continuecan walk.

Speed limits as trap

The speed restrictions in construction sites are often set so low that they mock any proportionality. Where the construction site is still allowed to be run liquid, a speed regime suddenly breaks in within, which is maintained even when the construction work is completely stopped. The signage is often confusing, inconsistent or simply unreadable -Dirty, obscured by vegetation or poorly lit. And once the limit is set, it is rarely cleared up. Many drivers are so unknowingly into fines because they simply don’t know whether the restriction still applies or has already ended. This is not an oversight, but a system: The more opaque the regulation, the higher the probabilityThat someone will be violated – and the more lucrative the income.

Blitzer as state’s cash machines

Monitoring on construction sites has long since lost all form of restraint. Stationary systems, mobile emergency services, hidden measuring vehicles – everything is used to register as many violations as possible. The fines for this are exorbitantly high. And while the authorities claim it’s about security, the income often flows directly into the public budgets. It’s cynical tooclaim that this practice has nothing to do with financial interests if at the same time it is repeatedly known that entire municipalities or state authorities are downright dependent on this income. Occupational safety may be the official pretext – but the real engine of this policy is the pursuit of easy-earned money.

No accountability, no control

What is particularly outraged is the complete lack of transparency with which this practice is practiced. There are no public statements about how much money is made by construction site blitzers. There are no independent audit instances that check if speed limits are actually required. There is no way for the citizen to inspect the planning documents or theto obtain justifications for certain measures. Instead, there are general indications of “security” and “legality” with blanket references, while the actual decision-making processes remain in the dark. This is no longer a rule of law, but a bureaucratic machine that uses itself and considers the population as a milkable object.

Distrust as a logical consequence

It is therefore no wonder that trust in state institutions continues to dwindle. When people experience every day how they are asked to pay under false pretexts, when they see that rules are applied arbitrarily and restrictions are maintained for no apparent reason, then the impression is inevitably created that the state is no longer in the service of citizens,but vice versa. The blanket allegation, behind every construction site is mere greed for profit, may be simplistic – but it is the logical answer to a practice that has lost any credibility. As long as real transparency is not finally established, as long as independent bodies are not allowed to check the need for speed limits and construction sites, and as long as the incomeare not fully disclosed from fines, this suspicion will remain justified.

Security as an alibi

In the end, the bitter realization remains: In many cases, road safety is nothing more than an alibi. A morally charged buzzword behind which is a calloused-rooted-off machine. The construction workers, whose protection is supposedly the focus, benefit just as little as the drivers who are forced every day through these kafkaesque scenarios. whowould be really interested in security, would ensure clear, comprehensible and time-limited measures – not permanent restricted zones without a recognizable purpose. Until then, the motorway construction site remains the symbol of a policy that has long since forgotten who it is supposed to serve.