The number of traffic fatalities in Germany has decreased significantly since a peak of 21,332 in 1970. In 2019, the figure was down to 3046, and in 2020 it is expected to be less than 3000 for the first time. This figure is a political and social success and can be attributed to various factors. These include the fact that technical innovations have made vehicles safer for their (fellow) drivers[1]"Therefore, it is (...) not purposeful to use technical measures to reduce objective risk, since this reduction may be compensated by one's own behaviour." ... Continue reading, that the maximum speed on rural roads has been limited to 100 km/h[2]Most road users die on rural roads... Continue reading, and that it is compulsory to wear a seat belt. Perhaps the most unknown factor, which is now taken for granted, could be the establishment of a nationwide rescue service[3]In 1969, eight-year-old Björn Steiger was killed when he was hit by a motorist. It took an hour for an ambulance service to arrive on the scene. He died of shock on the way to hospital... Continue reading Nevertheless, there are still about 3000 families every year who are left with a sudden and irretrievable void because of a collision.
Even if the absolute number of traffic fatalities is declining[4]The number of children killed is stagnating. https://www.bast.de/BASt_2017/DE/Presse/Downloads/2020-17-Unfallprognose.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 [11.02.2021], the number of cyclists killed[5]https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1041872/umfrage/getoetete-fahrradfahrer-im-strassenverkehr-in-deutschland/ [11.02.2021] has been increasing for several years. Yet nothing fewer than zero traffic fatalities should be acceptable. In particular, pedestrians and cyclists must be protected. This is also stated in § 10 paragraph 3 of the Berlin Mobility Act:
"The goal is that no traffic accidents with serious personal injury occur in the Berlin urban area. This ‘Vision Zero’ is the guideline for all planning, standards and measures with influence on the development of road safety."[6]https://gesetze.berlin.de/jportal/?quelle=jlink&query=MobG+BE++10&psml=bsbeprod.psml&max=true [11.02.2021].
There are many opportunities to save more lives and move the number towards zero. Finland has set an example: no pedestrians or cyclists were killed in Helsinki in 2019.[7]In 2019, one car driver and two motorcyclists died on the roads in Helsinki. Continue reading The fact that only a maximum speed of 30 km/h is allowed in most residential areas and in the city centre is considered to be one of the most important reasons. This is one of the reasons why Germany is discussing the introduction of a nationwide speed limit of 30 km/h in urban areas.
As recently as January 2021, the proposal of the left-wing parliamentary group at the Pankow district council in Berlin was adopted to introduce 30 km/h speed limits in the entire district - with a few exceptions.[8]https://www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/politik-und-verwaltung/bezirksverordnetenversammlung/online/vo020.asp?VOLFDNR=5640 [11.02.2021] However, in the absence of a legal basis, implementation is difficult, despite the political will for change. This is because the establishment of 30 km/h speed limits on main roads is federal law. For this, the Road Traffic Act (StVO), which continues to focus on car traffic, must be modified.
When a speed limit of 50 km/h was to be introduced within built-up areas at the end of the 1950s, there were similar discussions.[9]https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/verkehr-laerm/verkehrsplanung/tempolimit#tempolimit-innerorts [11.02.2021] Among other things, there were warnings of a strain on the flow of traffic.[10]https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43064362.html [11.02.2021] Today, critics argue that a reduction in speed to 30 km/h would lead to a reduction in the flow of traffic and thus contribute to the restriction of the green wave.[11]https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/bezirke/erhoehte-sicherheit-oder-gesetzwidrig-in-berlins-groesstem-bezirk-soll-bald-auf-allen-strassen-tempo-30-gelten/26835948.html … Continue reading But it is precisely the lack of clarity and the constant changing of speed limits that seems more likely to lead to gridlocked traffic.[12]Reference should also be made here to the debate following the last amendment to the Road Traffic Act. Critics complained that if the critical limit was lowered to 21 km/h ... Continue reading At the very least, it makes traffic more dangerous.
It is undisputed that the chance of survival for vulnerable road users is much higher if the driver drives at 30 km/h instead of 50 km/h in the event of a collision. While the person driving at 30 km/h has already come to a complete stop, the person driving at 50 km/h has not even started to brake. Now, accident statistics show that speeding is one of the most frequent causes of accidents.[13]https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/_Grafik/_Interaktiv/verkehrsunfaelle-fehlverhalten.html [11.02.2021] The tendency to always drive a little faster than the speed limit - because it is tolerated, not significantly sanctioned , and possibly rewarded by arriving faster - can be the difference between life and death.[14]Gehlert, Tina; Kröling, Sophie (2018): Verkehrssicherheit. In: Oliver Schwedes (ed.): Verkehrspolitik. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung. 2nd ed. 2018, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, ... Continue reading
"It is precisely these routine violations of the applicable rules, such as speed limits, minimum distances or even the prohibition of alcohol, that are associated with an increased or particularly serious incidence of accidents."[15]Ibid.
It has been a long time since 30 km/h speed limits were set up in all places where they are possible according to the current StVO. And where they have been set up, not all motorised road users keep to the speed limits.[16]Driving at 82 km/h instead of the permitted 30 km/h: https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1040823.php [11.02.2021] ] This is not only a question of control and sanctions.[17]Gehlert, Tina; Kröling, Sophie (2018): Verkehrssicherheit. In: Oliver Schwedes (ed.): Verkehrspolitik. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung. 2nd ed. 2018, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, ... Continue reading It is also about how we want to shape our world: For whom should it be liveable?
In the end, much comes back to the principle of Vision Zero . Infrastructure must be designed to be forgiving and tolerant, including for those who, for physiological reasons, are not yet or no longer able to grasp it, for example children or senior citizens.[18]https://deutsche-verkehrswacht.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2018_DVW_Broschre_Kinder-zu-Fu-im-Straenverkehr.pdf [23.02.2021] It is wrong to be tolerant of the mistakes of the stronger road users – this prevailing paradigm in urban and traffic planning should be reconsidered.[19]Cf. Schwedes, Oliver; Wachholz, Sina; Friel, David (2021): Sicherheit ist Ansichtssache. Subjektives Sicherheitsempfinden: Ein vernachlässigtes Forschungsfeld. Discussion Paper. Ed. by Fachgebiet ... Continue reading A lower maximum speed can make a meaningful, easy-to-implement contribution here. Cities, no matter what size, are living spaces for all people and should be viewed and thought of as such.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Improving vehicles does not necessarily lead to fewer traffic fatalities: „Daher ist es (…) nicht zielführend technische Maßnahmen einzusetzen, um das objektive Risiko zu verringern, da diese Reduktion gegebenenfalls durch das eigene Verhalten kompensiert wird.“ ["Therefore, it is (...) not purposeful to use technical measures to reduce objective risk, since this reduction may be compensated by one's own behaviour."] In: Gehlert, Tina; Kröling, Sophie (2018): Verkehrssicherheit. In: Oliver Schwedes (ed.): Verkehrspolitik. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung. 2nd ed. 2018, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, pp. 271-292. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Most road users die on rural roads. https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/_Grafik/_Statisch/verkehrsunfaelle-getoetete-beteiligungsart.png?__blob=poster [11.02.2021] |
| ↑3 | In 1969, eight-year-old Björn Steiger was killed when he was hit by a motorist. It took an hour for an ambulance service to arrive on the scene. He died of shock on the way to hospital. The parents initiated the Björn Steiger Foundation only two months later and since have advocated a comprehensive system of first response. The nationwide emergency numbers 110 and 112, the job description of the paramedic, an emergency doctor available around the clock and other emergency services that are now taken for granted can be traced back to this advocacy. https://www.steiger-stiftung.de/ueber-die-stiftung/historie [11.02.2021] |
| ↑4 | The number of children killed is stagnating. https://www.bast.de/BASt_2017/DE/Presse/Downloads/2020-17-Unfallprognose.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 [11.02.2021] |
| ↑5 | https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1041872/umfrage/getoetete-fahrradfahrer-im-strassenverkehr-in-deutschland/ [11.02.2021] |
| ↑6 | https://gesetze.berlin.de/jportal/?quelle=jlink&query=MobG+BE++10&psml=bsbeprod.psml&max=true [11.02.2021]. |
| ↑7 | In 2019, one car driver and two motorcyclists died on the roads in Helsinki. https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/berlin-kann-sich-beispiel-an-finnland-nehmen-keine-toten-fussgaenger-und-radfahrer-2019-in-helsinki/25558478.html [11.02.2021] |
| ↑8 | https://www.berlin.de/ba-pankow/politik-und-verwaltung/bezirksverordnetenversammlung/online/vo020.asp?VOLFDNR=5640 [11.02.2021] |
| ↑9 | https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/verkehr-laerm/verkehrsplanung/tempolimit#tempolimit-innerorts [11.02.2021] |
| ↑10 | https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43064362.html [11.02.2021] |
| ↑11 | https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/bezirke/erhoehte-sicherheit-oder-gesetzwidrig-in-berlins-groesstem-bezirk-soll-bald-auf-allen-strassen-tempo-30-gelten/26835948.html [11.02.2021] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/2546/publikationen/wirkungen_von_tempo_30_an_hauptstrassen.pdf, P.10-11 [11.02.2021] |
| ↑12 | Reference should also be made here to the debate following the last amendment to the Road Traffic Act. Critics complained that if the critical limit was lowered to 21 km/h above the official speed limit in inner city areas, which would result in sanctions, violations would happen far too often due to the confusing and constantly changing speed limits. The consequence should not be to lower tolerance for speeding, but to find a clear solution so that speeding is more detectable. This would also make it easier to sanction deliberate speeding, since a driver could no longer claim to not have seen a sign. Not to mention the gain in aesthetics and reduction of bureaucracy if a municipality could save itself vast amounts of traffic signs with a uniform 30 km/h regulation. |
| ↑13 | https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/_Grafik/_Interaktiv/verkehrsunfaelle-fehlverhalten.html [11.02.2021] |
| ↑14, ↑17 | Gehlert, Tina; Kröling, Sophie (2018): Verkehrssicherheit. In: Oliver Schwedes (ed.): Verkehrspolitik. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung. 2nd ed. 2018, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, pp. 271-292. |
| ↑15 | Ibid. |
| ↑16 | Driving at 82 km/h instead of the permitted 30 km/h: https://www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.1040823.php [11.02.2021] |
| ↑18 | https://deutsche-verkehrswacht.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2018_DVW_Broschre_Kinder-zu-Fu-im-Straenverkehr.pdf [23.02.2021] |
| ↑19 | Cf. Schwedes, Oliver; Wachholz, Sina; Friel, David (2021): Sicherheit ist Ansichtssache. Subjektives Sicherheitsempfinden: Ein vernachlässigtes Forschungsfeld. Discussion Paper. Ed. by Fachgebiet Integrierte Verkehrsplanung. Technische Universität Berlin. Berlin. Available online at https://www.ivp.tu-berlin.de/fileadmin/fg93/Dokumente/Discussion_Paper/DP17_Schwedes_et_al.pdf [26.01.2021] |
