Transport sheet T.10

Transport safety

Safety in transport covers very different risks: road collisions, violence against people working on trains, drones near runways and ageing bridges. Responsibility for each lies partly with the Federal Ministry for Transport and partly with police, the Länder, operators and other ministries. This sheet gives the current figures and sets out what Steffen Bilger has said and what has been done since he took office on 29 July 2026.

Steffen Bilger in front of a red train; behind him a member of the rail security staff.

Section A — roads

Eight deaths a day

According to final figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), published on 7 July 2026, 2,832 people died on German roads in 2025, 62 more than in 2024. Around 371,000 people were injured, and police recorded about 2.52 million accidents.

Road safety is shared work. Federal law sets the rules of the road, vehicle standards and driving licences, and the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) supplies research; the Länder police enforce the rules; road authorities at every level design junctions and crossings. The Federal Ministry for Transport therefore influences the figures mainly through law, vehicle approval and the design of motorways and federal roads.

The most visible safety-related policy debate concerns a general speed limit on the Autobahn, which Germany does not have. Bilger rejects one. In Bild on 9 August 2026 he said „Nein, ich halte nichts von einem Tempolimit" ("No, I don't think anything of a speed limit", translation), preferring variable limits set by traffic-control systems according to conditions. Supporters of a limit, including the Greens, argue for it on safety and climate grounds. No new federal road-safety programme has been announced since 29 July 2026.

20242,770

20252,832

Road deaths in Germany. Source: Destatis, 7 July 2026.

Rail staff

Violence against people on trains

Assaults on conductors and other rail staff became one of the first issues of Bilger's term, after a conductor was killed during a ticket check earlier in 2026.

DB Regio, assaults on staff, January–June 2026

781 simple assault (pushing, grabbing, spitting)
185 attempted assault
22 serious assault

989 in total. Source: BMV press release 073/2026.

In February 2026 the conductor Serkan Çalar was fatally attacked during a ticket check near Landstuhl; in July 2026 the Zweibrücken regional court sentenced his attacker to ten years in prison. On 10 August 2026 the ministry published DB Regio's figures together with the company's response. Bilger called the numbers and staff accounts „erschütternd" ("shocking", translation) and said:

Sicherheit im Zug ist kein Randthema. Sie ist eine Grundvoraussetzung für einen funktionierenden öffentlichen Verkehr.

"Safety on trains is not a side issue. It is a basic precondition for functioning public transport." (translation)
Steffen Bilger, 10 August 2026 — BMV press release 073/2026

Measures by DB

Bodycams for staff in regional and long-distance trains, with a two-month pilot of audio recording from 1 October 2026 in the Rhine-Neckar and Palatinate region, to be extended nationwide after evaluation.
Pilot schemes in which conductors are accompanied by security-trained staff, and inspection teams of six to eight people.
Stab-resistant vests and helmets; linking emergency alerts to bodycams; a national respect campaign with the federal government.

The union, the law and the budget speech

On 23 August 2026 the rail union EVG raised the pressure. Its chairman Martin Burkert threatened a strike: Das versprochene Gesetz für härtere Strafen bei Angriffen auf Zugpersonal muss noch in diesem Jahr in den Bundestag, sonst legen wir im Januar den Betrieb lahm. ("The promised law on tougher penalties for attacks on train staff must reach the Bundestag this year, or we will shut down operations in January", translation.) He added: Ein Zugbegleiter wurde vor einem halben Jahr im Dienst getötet und seitens der Politik gab es betroffene Gesichter und große Worte, aber keine Taten. ("A conductor was killed on duty six months ago, and from politicians there were dismayed faces and big words, but no action", translation.)

Criminal law is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Justice, not the transport ministry. In late August 2026 the Justice Ministry said the draft law was still in coordination within the government. Its status after that could not be verified for this sheet, and reports about its content and about the union's later stance are not included here.

In his budget speech on 8 September 2026 Bilger described a conversation with a conductor:

Besonders eindrücklich in Erinnerung geblieben ist mir das Gespräch mit einem Zugbegleiter. Er hat mir berichtet, wie häufig er beleidigt wird, wie oft er bereits körperlich angegriffen wurde.

"My conversation with a train conductor stayed with me especially vividly. He told me how often he is insulted and how often he has already been physically attacked." (translation)
Steffen Bilger, budget speech in the Bundestag, 8 September 2026 — Bundesregierung

He said the conductor expected politicians to support him and his colleagues, as was now possible, for example, with bodycams for conductors. The photograph at the top of this page shows Bilger at a train with a security employee in the background; the occasion is not documented. More on rail on the rail sheet.

Aviation

Drone detection at airports

After repeated drone sightings near German airports, including an earlier interruption of operations at Berlin Brandenburg (BER), air navigation provider DFS is installing detection systems that spot drones in approach and departure areas and alert the security authorities.

Status reported by the ministry on 5 October 2026
Airport	Drone detection
Berlin Brandenburg (BER)	In operation since 30 Sep 2026
Frankfurt	In operation
Munich	In operation
Düsseldorf	In operation
Cologne/Bonn	In operation
Stuttgart	In operation from Mon 5 Oct 2026
Hamburg	In operation from Mon 5 Oct 2026
Leipzig/Halle	Due the same week

Wenn eine Drohne in der Nähe eines Flughafens auftaucht, müssen wir das frühzeitig wissen.

"If a drone appears near an airport, we need to know early." (translation)
Steffen Bilger, 5 October 2026 — BMV press release 091/2026

At the BER launch on 30 September he called the systems ein wichtiger Schritt für die Sicherheit des Luftverkehrs ("an important step for the safety of air traffic", translation). With the eight large airports equipped, the ministry described the first expansion stage as nearly complete. The systems detect drones and alert the responsible security authorities; they do not themselves stop a drone.

Infrastructure

Bridges that close

Infrastructure safety means inspecting and, if necessary, closing structures before they fail. Several closures in recent years have shown how quickly a bridge can become a regional problem. The bridges sheet has the full picture.

Network

About 28,000 bridge sections

On the Autobahn network, around 55% built before 1985. About 4,000 structures on a heavily used 7,000 km network are to be modernised, with 2030 as the target year.

Bonn · June 2026

Rhine bridge closed

A Rhine bridge in Bonn was closed indefinitely in June 2026 after concrete cracks and steel corrosion were found. Bilger's predecessor Patrick Schnieder warned: „Das kann uns immer wieder passieren." ("This can keep happening to us", translation.)

A45 · Lüdenscheid

Rahmede valley bridge

The replacement bridge opened its first half on 22 December 2025; the second half is due by the end of 2026. No involvement by Bilger since July 2026 is documented.

A7 · Kiel Canal

Rader Hochbrücke

Bilger visited the high bridge over the Kiel Canal on his summer tour in August 2026. The first half of its replacement is due by the end of 2026.