Germany's worrying road safety issue

The latest data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveals a worrying increase in road related fatalities in the first three quarters of 2011. The death rate on the country’s roads rose by 5.9% to 2,938 for the period in comparison with 2010. However, the overall number of road accidents reported by the German police dropped by 1.4% to 1.71 million. These are preliminary figures and final data has still to be made available but the news of the increasing death rate gives major cause for con
May 14, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe latest data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, 5143 Destatis, reveals a worrying increase in road related fatalities in the first three quarters of 2011. The death rate on the country’s roads rose by 5.9% to 2,938 for the period in comparison with 2010. However, the overall number of road accidents reported by the German police dropped by 1.4% to 1.71 million. These are preliminary figures and final data has still to be made available but the news of the increasing death rate gives major cause for concern. The EC’s nations have managed to reduce the road accident death rate as part of an international policy on improving road safety, with France, Portugal and Spain scoring particular success in this regard. That the EC’s most populous nation should see a reversal of the overall improving safety trend will require further analysis to unveil the cause so that remedial action may be taken.

5534 Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development is promising to boost road safety however and aims to cut the number of road deaths by 40% by 2040. This is to be achieved with a new road safety programme that will entail flexible speed limits and more speed control. The Transport Ministry also wants additional rumble strips to be installed on highways. How the prospect of increased speed control will be regarded by the country’s automotive manufacturers and the vocal motoring lobby remains to be seen. Germany is the only country in the world to still have sections of high speed road (or autobahn) where drivers are permitted to drive as fast as they dare or their vehicles are capable (editor's note - while cruising at 200km/h on an autobahn on one occasion I was overtaken by a Ferrari probably travelling in excess of 240km/h). Suggestions by the country’s green politicians that this situation might be changed in the interests of saving the environment were shouted down by the motoring lobby. What is all the more remarkable is that despite the existence of sections of autobahn where there are no upper speed limits, the safety record on these highway stretches is still better than that of similar roads in many other developed nations.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road safety improvements and challenges worldwide
    May 24, 2012
    Road safety is again hitting the headlines worldwide, with new data showing accident reductions being achieved as well as highlighting areas for improvement. Several European nations showed major safety improvements. In Spain, the Home Affairs Office has published encouraging information revealing that the number of fatalities from car accidents fell in 13 out of the country's 17 autonomous regions during 2010. La Rioja region reported a drop of 47%, the best improvement in Spain, while the regions of Astur
    Read More
  • Improved safety on German road network
    November 28, 2013
    Preliminary data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveals an improving road safety situation in the country. The latest figures show that the number of people killed in road traffic crashes in Germany decreased by 283 or 10.3% to 2,466 in the first three quarters of 2013 compared to the same period in the previous year. The number of people injured in road crashes in the first three quarters of 2013 period fell by 5.3% to around 279,100. Meanwhile the overall number of crashes registered
    Read More
  • Measures needed to increase awareness of cyclists
    May 4, 2012
    The latest official data shows a continuing improvement in road safety statistics in both France and the UK. However the data also reveals worrying trends in accidents concerning vulnerable road users. Department for Transport figures for 2010 have revealed a 17% drop in road fatalities to 1,850. But 111 pedal cyclists died in 2010, compared with 104 in 2009, with cyclist fatalities in capital London of particular concern. The DfT believes that the severe winter weather, lower traffic in general due to th
    Read More
  • Improving safety for Europe’s roads revealed by latest data
    May 24, 2013
    A wide variety of road safety measures are being implemented across Europe, and with generally beneficial effects. According to the latest data from the European Commission, road fatalities across the EU dropped 9% for 2012 compared with the previous year. In fact 2012 also saw the lowest numbers of people being killed in road traffic crashes in EU countries since data first began being collated. But country by country statistics show that the number of road deaths still varies greatly across the EU.
    Read More

Highlighted Content