2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The highways are relatively safe, despite the high speed permission. Most of the deaths occurred outside built-up areas.
By Heiko Haupt
If a traffic accident is mentioned in the news, then it is usually a serious accident on the motorway. Such reports have cemented the feeling in many people's consciousness that the motorway in particular is a very dangerous stretch of road. The reality is different. Most of the seriously injured and dead are to be mourned on country roads, and cities are not safe either.
60 percent dead on country roads
According to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, 5,107 people were killed in road traffic in 2006. The majority of them perished on roads outside built-up areas - 3070 traffic fatalities were reported there. These are country roads or federal highways, the motorways were much safer in this regard: Only 645 people died in traffic accidents in 2006. A good twice as many - namely 1392 - were victims of traffic accidents within localities.
The explanation for the safety of the highways is simple. “The first point is that motorways are intersection-free routes. In addition, the lanes are separated, so you don't have to deal with oncoming traffic,”says Alfred Fuhr, traffic sociologist at the Automobile Club of Germany (AvD) in Frankfurt / Main. Which eliminates some of the major causes of accidents. In addition, the drivers are quite concentrated on the highway and are hardly distracted by events at the roadside.
Different vehicles on the go
The opposite is the country road. In addition to the high number of deaths, 30,444 seriously injured people were counted here in 2006 alone, plus 91,949 slightly injured. "Country roads are always underestimated, but they are extremely dangerous," warns Marion Steinbach, spokeswoman for the German Traffic Guard (DVW) in Bonn.
One of the most important reasons for the high number of accidents: "There are a lot of different road users on these routes," explains Carla Bormann, spokeswoman for the German Road Safety Council (DVR) in Bonn. In addition to Austos and trucks, moped drivers and cyclists also cover distances there.
Accident focus avenue
There are also dangers such as game and trees on the roadside. The existence of avenues in particular gives rise to discussions between environmentalists and accident researchers. Because this is where particularly serious accidents happen. "If you drive too fast on an avenue and lose control, you hardly have a chance - you almost always end up in a tree," says Carla Bormann. The most important advice is therefore to drive very carefully on country roads.
Although excessive speed is still the main cause of accidents, safety must not be neglected even when driving relatively slowly in the city. Because here too there are many potential dangers. "Above all, the traffic mix in cities is even greater than on country roads," says Alfred Fuhr. Because drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, inline skaters and many other road users move in a very small space.
Reduce sources of distraction
All of this comes together to create one of the main problems facing traffic - distraction. In the city in particular, there are a lot of things that attract the driver's attention and distract them from other things: “In the city, it is therefore important to reduce sources of distraction,” explains Alfred Fuhr. "Anyone who calls on their cell phone and is looking for something in the car at the same time does not notice a lot of the traffic." (dpa)
