Road traffic represents a complex system, and in order to work effectively, this system therefore needs a suitable framework of rules. The rules of the road, in other words all of the rules and regulations that govern conduct on the roads and that have to be observed by road users, have two main purposes: to ensure road safety and ease of use and to identify who is guilty in the event of accidents. The most important set of rules in Germany are the road traffic regulations (StraßenverkehrsOrdnung or StVO). These set out how road users are required to behave. The guiding principle is the requirement to show consideration for others pursuant to section 1 of these road traffic regulations (StVO). Other rules governing how road users are to behave are found in the German road traffic act (Straßenverkehrsgesetz or StVG) and German penal code (Strafgesetzbuch or StGB). Road users must follow the rules of the road; this is an essential prerequisite for road safety. A failure to observe the rules of the road can be regarded as either the cause of most traffic accidents or at least a factor contributing to the accident. Measures designed to increase the extent to which the rules are followed are therefore an essential element of strategies to improve road safety. The prerequisites for developing promising measures are knowledge of both the causes of traffic accidents and the traffic offenses for which people are prosecuted. It is also necessary to consider the extent to which the rules of the road are accepted and how they are perceived by the public. The UDV (German Insurers Accident Research) therefore carried out an interdisciplinary research project to investigate, on the one hand, the relationship between accidents and the penalties imposed for failure to observe the rules of the road and, on the other, the main factors determining whether or not road users follow the rules. In an analysis of the legal aspects involved, the existing system of monitoring and penalizing drivers for violations is assessed on the basis of both constitutional and criminal law. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting