Skip to main content

Data shows Germany road safety boost

Preliminary data suggests road deaths dropped by 6% in 2021 compared to figures for 2020
By Mike Woof March 31, 2022 Read time: 1 min
There were 2,570 road-related fatalities in Germany in 2021, the lowest rate for over 60 years (© Vondetraumer | Dreamstime.com)

The latest data on crash statistics and road fatalities for Germany shows a marked improvement in casualty rates for 2021.

The preliminary data paints a positive picture, with road deaths dropping by 6% compared to the figures for 2020. The data is of note as it compares a similar picture to France and the UK for example, where casualty rates have also been reduced.

This contrasts strongly with the US also, where road casualty rates actually increased during the pandemic.

There were 2,570 road related fatalities in Germany in 2021, the lowest rate of road deaths for over 60 years. While distances travelled have dropped during the pandemic period, it is of note that more people drove during 2021 than in 2020, so the data reflects a strong overall improvement in road safety in Germany.

Further analysis of the crash data will give greater insight into how this safety improvement has been achieved as more comprehensive information becomes available. It is of note that DUI offences, alcohol in particular but also misuses of drugs, have been an issue in some parts of Germany in the past. Whether this has also been reduced remains to be seen.
 

Related Content

  • Deaths up and road safety spending down in England
    July 12, 2012
    Fifty local councils in England saw more than a ten per cent increase in killed and seriously injured (KSI) crash rates between 2010 and 2011, according to an Institute for Advanced Motorists (IAM) analysis of the new road accident figures. The biggest increases in KSI numbers were in St Helens – 62 per cent, Portsmouth – 57 per cent, Stoke on Trent – 57 per cent, and Coventry – 51 per cent. A further 76 councils saw increases in the KSI rate above the national average of two per cent.
  • IAM RoadSmart calls for joined up thinking on road safety
    October 12, 2016
    Action is needed from across government departments to reverse the trend of flat-lining road deaths, according to new research from UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, which says reducing these deaths would in turn offer a large saving to the public purse. The new report, Evaluating the costs of incidents from the public sector perspective, is the first attempt to update the formula for death and injury cost figures since the 1990s. It is also the first time anyone has highlighted the costs to the publ
  • Global mobility study: world on the move
    November 27, 2020
    ERF reviews impact of new mobility on road infrastructure in 20 countries pre-Covid
  • Interactive map reveals the UK’s riskiest roads
    November 20, 2018
    The A254 between the junction with A28 in Margate and the junction with the A255 near Ramsgate is the UK’s riskiest road, according to an interactive Dangerous Road Map. There were 26 fatal and serious crashes per billion vehicle kilometres on this road, say motor insurer Ageas and the Road Safety Foundation (RSF). Both organisations are now calling on an immediate investment from the UK government of £75 million, and the same amount annually for five years thereafter to improve the country’s riskiest