Transport Minister andreas scheuer (CSU) does not want a speed limit on highways – and claims that German expressways are the safest in the world. Is there any evidence for this theory?? Scheuer’s ministry at least did not provide any.
Are german autobahns the safest roads?
Assertion: "german autobahns are the safest roads." this is what the CSU politician recently told the "bild am sonntag" newspaper. Rating: doubtful.
german highways
This is what the debate about a speed limit is all about
Germany is the only country in europe without a speed limit on freeways. But some associations now want to change that. More
Facts: international comparative figures cast doubt on scheuer’s statement. the german traffic safety council and the insurers’ accident researchers are not aware of any statistical evidence that would support scheuer’s theory either. However, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the EU do not exactly refute this statement either.
20.928 accidents with deaths and injuries
Basically, autobahns are the safest type of road in the world. According to the OECD, the risk of death there is up to six times lower than on roads as a whole. But germany is the only european country without a general speed limit on freeways. And with higher speeds, the risk of causing a fatal accident increases rapidly: according to the World Health Organization, the risk increases by four percent for every one percent increase in speed.
The Federal Statistical Office writes in its report "accident trends on german roads" that, speeding is a major cause of accidents on highways. in 2017, according to the wiesbaden authority, there were 20.928 accidents with fatalities and injuries on freeways. 409 people killed, 5.974 were seriously injured.
High "fatality rate"
According to EU data, more accidents end fatally on a stretch of freeway of the same length in Germany than in other EU countries. According to this, the "fatality rate" was per 1.000 kilometers on german highways at 30.2 percent. The European average was 26.4 percent. Countries that performed significantly better than germany included
- Cyprus
- Finland
- Sweden
- Portugal
- Hungary
- Austria
- France
- Great Britain
This at least contradicts scheuer’s statement. However, the data say nothing about how many cars were on the roads.
In most EU countries, a person is considered to have died in an accident if he or she succumbs to his or her injuries within 30 days. France, for example, only counts for six days. This distorts the values in this case.
Reference values are missing for international comparison
Measured in terms of population, countries such as Great Britain, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland have had far fewer fatal accidents than Germany for many years, according to Siegfried Brockmann, head of accident research at the German Insurers’ Association (UDV). these countries compare well with germany.
"In these countries, the road infrastructure is similar and therefore this may also be due to the way road users treat each other", says brockmann. With regard to scheuer’s statement, he says: "as a scientist, i miss the reference value, for example, population or kilometers driven." But he does not have such figures in an international comparison either.
- Surprising facts:this is how much money speed limits would save
- Traffic experts:what speaks against speed limits
If you look at the distances traveled on highways, Great Britain, Finland, Austria and the netherlands, for example, once again come off better than germany. According to the OECD, twice as many people die on highways in Germany per billion kilometers traveled as in the U.K. In Germany, 1.614 people are killed, in Great Britain 0.852 people are killed. Even that doesn’t exactly suggest that german highways are the safest in the world.