8600 Officers Enforce Cycling Rules

In An Operation Across Germany

 

 

 

SichermobillebenPHOTOS: POLIZEI UNTERFRANKEN8.600 police officers at 3.100 road checkpoints performed a nationwide enforcement operation on cycling in Germany.

The operation under the name “Safe Mobile Living – Focus on Cycling” (German: "Sicher Mobil Leben - Radfahrende im Blick") was carried out on May 5th and centered on cycling and the associated road traffic risks. A total of 68.338 road users were checked with 45.197 of them using different types of bicycles, e-bikes or pedelecs. More than 25.000 offences were registered by cyclists as well as by drivers with regard to cycling. The latter ones included dangerously small distance when overtaking cyclists, parking or driving over cycle lanes and paths. Numerous bicycles were also technically checked during the operation.

 

Tolerance

"Road safety concerns us all. Therefore, more than ever, we should seek solidarity between the different actors. No fronts should be allowed to form between the different groups that individually participate in road traffic, but rather a cooperation that is based on mutual tolerance and understanding. This is what we are working for," said Interior Minister Thomas Strobl of the State of Baden-Württemberg - the police force of which was responsible for this year's operation.

Sichermobilleben1Focus

The "Safe Mobile Living" campaign was launched in 2018 by the Conference of the German Ministers of Interior and has a different focus each year. Cycling was selected as a topic for 2021 due to a change in mobility particularly visible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many road users switched from cars and public transportation to cycling. Thus, although the total number of road crashes in Germany fell to an all-time low, collisions involving cyclists increased by 5%. In 2020 over 91.000 cyclists were injured in road accidents in Germany, 426 of them fatally.

The campaign is supported by the DVR (German Road Safety Council) which also supports the annual ROADPOL Safety Days as well as by ADAC (German Automobile Club), ADFC  (German Bicycle club) as well the "Deutsche Verkehrswacht" (German Traffic Watch Association).