Safety on Hessian School Routes - German schools face rising dangers as reckless drivers put children at risk
School routes across Germany remain hazardous, with teachers pointing to reckless driving and poor parental behaviour as the biggest threats. Speeding, illegal parking, and traffic jams near schools have created dangerous conditions for children walking or cycling. Now, cities like Frankfurt are testing new measures to tackle the problem.
In Hesse alone, 4,764 children, pupils, and students were involved in accidents on their way to daycare, school, or university by the end of October. One of these incidents proved fatal. Nearly one million young people in the state are automatically insured under the Hesse Statutory Accident Insurance while travelling to and from education, yet risks persist.
Teachers nationwide have flagged cars and parental actions as the main dangers. Misconduct by students and poorly maintained infrastructure—such as faded crosswalks and narrow pavements—add to the hazards. Siegfried Brockmann, an accident researcher with the Björn Steiger Foundation, stresses that safety improvements must extend beyond school gates to cover entire routes.
Frankfurt has now introduced five ‘school streets’, closing key roads near schools to vehicles for one hour before classes start. The move aims to create safer spaces for pupils arriving on foot or by bike. Similar road closures are under discussion in other Hesse municipalities, though exact numbers have not yet been released.
Support for car-free zones near schools is growing. Ansgar Hegerfeld of the German Cycling Association (ADFC) Hesse and an ADAC Hesse-Thuringia spokesperson both back the idea, arguing that it would reduce conflicts during drop-off and pick-up times.
The new measures in Frankfurt reflect a wider push to cut risks on school routes. With accidents still occurring and infrastructure issues unresolved, local authorities are under pressure to act. The focus remains on creating safer journeys for pupils, whether through road closures, stricter enforcement, or better-designed streets.
