Driving a Mercedes-Benz in Black Forest of Germany

WHAT CAN WE LEARN BY HOW PEOPLE DRIVE ON THE SAFEST ROADS IN THE WORLD?

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

ACCORDING TO THE Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the country — despite having some roads with no speed limits — had just 2,800 road fatalities in 2023.

India, on the other hand, had 60 times fatalities, at 172,000 persons (road transport ministry), with many more unreported.

Recently, while driving the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class from Munich towards the south — edges of the Black Forest and into the Bavarian Alps — I realised how the country offers an entirely different perspective on motoring compared to India, and how discipline and road culture can go a long way in reducing accidents (in addition, obviously, to infrastructure).

City driving