Road safety in Germany has improved steadily over the decades. Technical innovations, legal regulations, and social awareness have contributed to a dramatic reduction in the number of traffic fatalities. While the coronavirus years brought particularly low figures once again, developments from 2022 onwards show that challenges remain.

According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, 2,770 people died in road traffic accidents in Germany in 2024. This represents a decrease of 69, or 2.4 percent, compared to 2023 (2,839), as reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. This makes 2024 the third lowest figure since records began – behind only the Corona years 2020 and 2021.

The number of people injured in road traffic accidents was around 365,000, just below the previous year’s level (366,600). Around 314,400 people were slightly injured (2023: 313,700) and around 50,600 were seriously injured (2023: 52,900). The number of seriously injured people thus fell in 2024 to its lowest level since 1991, when injuries in road traffic accidents were first recorded separately for serious and minor injuries.

Conclusion
Since the 1970s, Germany has achieved an impressive decline in traffic fatalities – from over 20,000 to less than 3,000 per year. The coronavirus pandemic led to historic lows in 2020/21. With the end of lockdowns, however, the number rose again in 2022 and 2023, but remained below pre-coronavirus levels. The year 2024 also saw a slight decline in numbers – but in order to achieve the ambitious goal of reducing the number of traffic fatalities by 40% by 2030 compared to 2021, it is still necessary to make considerable efforts, consistently pursue existing strategies, and focus more on vulnerable groups such as cyclists.

International vehicle manufacturers have significantly influenced the positive development in road safety through their innovations in the field of active and passive safety. They will continue to make an active contribution to increasing road safety in the future. In particular, modern driver assistance systems and their networking with a wide variety of information sources will play an increasingly important role. International vehicle manufacturers are already increasingly equipping their vehicles with driver assistance systems. These systems support the driver in the driving task through better environmental detection and situation analysis, thus ensuring significantly greater safety.