Publi­ca­ti­ons

For some time, society has increasingly been using the term “gender gap” to discuss whether women are under-represented compared to men as beneficiaries of research and development and whether insufficient con[1]sideration is paid to their gender-related specificities. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of gender on the risk of serious injury to car occupants on the basis of German accident data.

Fixed speed cameras are very effective in reducing accidents. That is one of the findings of a new study by the German Insurers A cident Research.

Are accidents between cars and cyclists in driveways supposedly unimportant? In order to investigate this question, the German Insurers Accident Research has examined accidents of this type as part of a study.

In road traffic, pedestrians must use visual and acoustic information to assess the movement of vehicles in order to avoid collisions with a vehicle for example when crossing a road. Pedestrians are among the most vulnerable road users. In 2020, a total of 26,130 pedestrians were involved in crashes with personal injury. Most of the road users killed in urban areas were walking.

Although serious crashes and fire incidents involving buses and coaches are rare, they can have desastrous outcomes when they occur due to the large number of passengers transported in a single vehicle. The German Insurers Accident Research contracted a research project to Trier University in order to investigate into the possibilities to enhance and speed up the evacuation process in coaches. The focus was on accident scenarios, particularly those in which the coach tipped over onto its side.

In terms of mileage, federal motorways are considered as particularly safe roads. However, on no other roads in Germany are so many injuries registered per kilometre by road traffic accidents. Accidents in longitudinal traffic are particularly frequent on motorways, especially collisions with vehicles driving ahead or waiting. Around 40 per cent of accidents involving fatalities occur in the dark.

Young drivers continue to be the most at-risk group for accidents on German roads. Although a positive trend can be seen in recent years, further efforts must be made to increase the road safety of young drivers.

Children often have accidents in road traffic when they cross a road on foot and do not pay attention to approaching vehicles. A study by the UDV has therefore investigated how children perceive speeds and how they behave when crossing the road.

Automated driving is expected to make traffic flow more efficiently and reduce the number of road accident victims as well as emissions and traffic jams. The German Insurers Accident Research has car¬ried out a comprehensive study on motorway accidents involving cars. The aim of the study was to determine the overall safety effect of automated driving function.