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Road Safety Report

Public streets are not only spaces for traffic, recreation, and daily life, but also the workplace for millions of people. And they are high-risk areas—workplaces where many people are injured every year.

The 19th DEKRA Road Safety Report examines the various issues surrounding this topic from the perspectives of accident analysis, traffic psychology, automotive engineering, infrastructure design, and legislation, and identifies sustainable measures for improvement.

Professional drivers transport goods that are essential for daily life and industry. On construction sites, workers are responsible for maintaining and expanding the road infrastructure. Police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel must be prepared for unpredictable situations at all times while on emergency calls. These three examples alone illustrate the wide range of challenges associated with “road traffic as a workplace.”

There are a number of factors that are difficult to predict: adverse weather conditions, heavy traffic, technical malfunctions, or the behavior of other road users; time pressure, irregular work schedules, monotonous driving situations, a lack of rest periods, and high performance demands. Fatigue is considered one of the most significant risk factors in road traffic, as it significantly impairs reaction time and alertness.

Drivers, emergency responders, and many other mobile professionals shoulder a great deal of responsibility every day. They operate large vehicles, work under time pressure, and must react quickly and appropriately in dynamic traffic situations.

Jann Fehlauer, Managing Director of DEKRA Automobil GmbH

Another risk factor in the “road traffic workplace” is the high level of complexity of modern transportation systems. Digitalization and connectivity are fundamentally changing work processes. While navigation systems, digital order management, and automated driving functions simplify many tasks, they also give rise to new challenges. Distraction caused by electronic devices is one of the major challenges facing modern traffic safety.

A fundamental problem in addressing the road as a workplace is the limited “visibility” of the actual risk. This is because many statistical systems do not sufficiently distinguish between trips taken for personal or work-related reasons. As a result, a portion of accident data remains inadequately documented. Only when the actual extent of the risks becomes apparent can effective long-term measures be developed.