Road fatalities in Germany increase sharply, reversing a 20-year trend

According to Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, the number of people who died in road traffic accidents in Germany increased by 9.9 per cent to 4,009 in 2011 compared to 2010 - the first time in 20 years that the number of fatalities has risen. Paradoxically, the overall number of road traffic accidents registered by the police was down by 2.1 per cent (to 2.36 million in 2011) compared to 2010.
July 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
According to Germany's Federal Statistics Office, 6163 Destatis, the number of people who died in road traffic accidents in Germany increased by 9.9 per cent to 4,009 in 2011 compared to 2010 - the first time in 20 years that the number of fatalities has risen. Paradoxically, the overall number of road traffic accidents registered by the police was down by 2.1 per cent (to 2.36 million in 2011) compared to 2010.

The majority of fatal accidents, 60.9 per cent, happened on out of town country roads and this sector the largest percentage increase – 10.6 per cent - over the previous year.

‘Unsuitable speed’ was still the most common fault in 2011 but the absolute number of accidents due to inappropriate speed actually decreased in 2011. However, there were 7.1 per cent more of deaths in these accidents: nearly 40 per cent of all traffic fatalities last year were due to excessive speed of drivers involved in accidents.

The statistics also reveal an increase of 17 per cent in the number of alcohol related fatalities in accidents, the first time this has increased since 2002, and which related to 10 per cent of all fatalities.

The only major improvement recorded was that the number of children who died in road accidents in 2011 was down 17.3 per cent over the previous year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Transport is evolving – and road safety must keep pace, says Parifex
    May 25, 2023
    France-headquartered Parifex works at the cutting edge of Lidar-based speed control systems. CEO Paul-Henri Renard discusses safety advances made in recent decades - and the causes of accidents that remain…
    Read More
  • Driver training saves lives, increases profits, reduces costs
    February 3, 2012
    An innovative UK Government initiative on work-related driver training has resulted in astonishing success, not only in terms of government objectives, but also in substantial cost-benefits for companies and public sector authorities participating in the scheme: they save lives and increase profits/reduce costs Here, we present an overview of the initiative and, overleaf, provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis which amply illustrates why it has been enthusiastically embraced by industry and the public sec
    Read More
  • Driver training saves lives, increases profits, reduces costs
    February 6, 2012
    An innovative UK Government initiative on work-related driver training has resulted in astonishing success, not only in terms of government objectives, but also in substantial cost-benefits for companies and public sector authorities participating in the scheme: they save lives and increase profits/reduce costs Here, we present an overview of the initiative and, overleaf, provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis which amply illustrates why it has been enthusiastically embraced by industry and the public sec
    Read More
  • US speed limit increases ‘cause 33,000 deaths in 20 years’
    April 14, 2016
    A new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study, which looked at the impact of speed limit increases in 41 states over a 20-year period starting in 1993, shows that increases in speed limits over two decades have cost 33,000 lives in the US In 2013 alone. The increases resulted in 1,900 additional deaths, essentially cancelling out the number of lives saved by frontal airbags that year. "Although fatality rates fell during the study period, they would have been much lower if not for states' dec
    Read More

Highlighted Content