"Speed camera marathon" brings week of intensive speed checks to Germany

Drivers should take care on the roads in Germany this week, because Speed Week is back! From Monday, August 4, until Sunday, August 10, police will be out in force conducting speed checks. 

German Speed Week (Blitzermarathon) is back

Germany’s speed camera marathon (Blitzermarathon) is back, to coincide with the only week when all federal states are on school holidays and the roads are expected to be especially busy. If you’re out driving, you might notice an increased police presence on the roads.

“Speed Week” is a campaign that takes place every April and August in Germany and several other European countries and sees police conduct significantly more speed checks, especially on accident-prone stretches of road and risky areas, such as outside schools and kindergartens, and near construction sites, retirement homes and hospitals. Both autobahns and inner-city streets will be monitored. The idea is to encourage drivers to adhere to the speed limit.

However, while most federal states take part in the spring campaign, participation in the summer Speed Week is generally lower, due to capacity constraints. While most federal states (for obvious reasons) don’t say in advance whether they are taking part, it is expected that increased checks will be happening in:

• Baden-Württemberg
• Brandenburg
• Hamburg
• Hesse
• Lower Saxony
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Rhineland-Palatinate
• Saxony
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Schleswig-Holstein

Speeding is the number one cause of road traffic deaths in Germany

According to the Federal Statistical Office, excessive or inappropriate speed is the number one cause of fatal traffic accidents on German roads, and was responsible for 30 percent of fatal accidents last year. 

Police say campaigns like the speed camera marathon draw attention to the dangers of speeding. ADAC said in a press release, “the speed camera action weeks contribute to road safety because they make road users aware of the dangers of driving too fast and can sensitise them accordingly”, adding that the intense media coverage impacts everyone, “not only the people caught speeding that day”. 

Several other European countries are also holding “Speed Weeks” this week, so unless you want to risk a speeding fine, it pays to be cautious abroad as well.