The rule is as simple as it is obvious: defensive driving ensures safety and helps prevent accidents, while offensive driving leads to uncertainty and danger. But is it really always like this? Anyone who is too anxious and hesitant on the road can also confuse other road users and thus cause dangerous situations in the first place.
The basic rule is: Defensive driving contributes significantly to the avoidance of traffic accidents and to increasing road safety. Therefore, paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act (StVO) clarifies: Every road user must behave in such a way that no one else is harmed, endangered or more than is avoidable in the circumstances, hindered or disturbed. It follows that anyone who does not comply with this requirement violates the StVO. In this respect, the obligation to drive defensively is already anchored, in which prudent and anticipatory behavior behind the wheel is required. It also means that, when in doubt, you don’t insist on a right, such as the right of way, to defuse a sensitive situation if necessary.
However, driving defensively doesn’t mean giving up your rights on principle and always letting others go first. For example, anyone who drives particularly carefully at an intersection or junction, for example by trying to anticipate possible misconduct by other road users, is driving defensively. The opposite of this is a motorist trying to force his way through or recklessly push through traffic, hindering or even endangering other road users. The defensive driver, on the other hand, can give way to avoid a risky situation. However, those who consistently disregard their right of way may irritate others with their behavior, resulting in dangerous situations being conjured up in the first place. After all, other motorists cannot be assumed to expect over-cautious drivers to generally give up their right of way, let alone understand why the driver behaves as they do.
In short: Defensive driving reduces the risk of an accident for everyone involved in road traffic and can contribute significantly to a more relaxed journey from A to B. However, anyone who is unpredictably overly cautious behind the wheel by not exercising the privileges granted by the StVO in an understandable way contributes more to the confusion of other road users and thus creates the risk of an accident unnecessarily. The bottom line is that always giving up your right of way can cause more problems than exercising your rights carefully and with a big picture. (awm)
