On the occasion of the Conference of Transport Ministers on 29 and 30 October 2025 in Straubing, the German Road Safety Council (DVR) called for an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations. Specifically, the association advocates lowering the permissible maximum speed on rural roads with a carriageway width of up to six meters to 80 kilometers per hour. For intersections and merging points, according to the DVR's proposals, the speed should be limited to 70 kilometers per hour. The aim is to significantly reduce the number of severe accidents on roads outside built-up areas.
Accident numbers remain high
According to the DVR, in 2024 on German rural roads 1,571 people were killed. That corresponds to 57 percent of all deaths in road traffic. About 34 percent of these
fatalities – a total of 541 people – died in accidents attributed to excessive or inappropriate speed. These accidents occurred most frequently at intersections, junctions, roundabouts, and driveways of properties.
Manfred Wirsch, President of the DVR, says: “Many rural roads are not safe paths – they are places where families are torn apart. Each day four people on our rural roads lose their lives: friends, parents, children, grandparents, neighbors or colleagues. They disappear from our everyday life while we continue driving as if nothing happened. But behind every number lies a grieving family, an empty chair at the dining table. It’s not about statistics – it’s about people. Therefore we must act immediately so that not more lives are extinguished on our streets.”
Road safety investments should be
implemented more quickly
The DVR calls on the federal government, states and municipalities to hasten investments in road safety. The basis for this is the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality, which took effect retroactively from January 1, 2025, on October 2, 2025. According to the DVR, these funds should be used specifically to improve safety on rural roads. The association, in particular, recommends conducting more safety audits to identify potential risks as early as the planning phase and to reduce them through structural adjustments.
Driving-school training in focus
Another topic of the conference concerns the reform of driving-school training. In the DVR's view, the debate about lowering training costs must not come at the expense of road safety. The association rejects a return to lay education
and advocates high-quality, professional driver training.
To relieve driving students, the DVR sees possibilities in the use of suitable simulators, for example for a maximum of two of the training drives on federal and state roads, as well as for acquiring gear-shift competence. Also partial digitalization of theory instruction could make the training more efficient without diminishing its quality. In addition, the association recommends a transparent reference curriculum with learning-status assessments and learning checks to better structure the progression of training.
Clear requirements for new driving-licence classes
In connection with the planned expansion of existing driving-licence classes by additional motorcycle categories, the DVR emphasizes the need for theoretical and practical briefing. This should ensure that drivers, even with expanded licenses, are adequately trained to meet the requirements of
