Hanke on 2025 accident report: "We need safety for everyone on the move" Doubling of cycling fatalities highlights need for safe infrastructure – Traffic Regulations Amendment brings clear rules instead of cultural conflict – "Vision Zero" for children with milestones until 2029
Federal Minister Peter Hanke responds to the current balance of road fatalities in 2025. With a comprehensive collection amendment, technological innovations and a clear "Vision Zero" for children, the BMIMI is focusing on targeted measures to make the mobility of the future safe and reliable.
"Behind each of these 397 numbers is a person, a family, a fate. And behind the doubling of cyclists killed – from 32 to 65 – is a clear mandate: We don't need more cultural conflict on our roads, but more safety for everyone on the move," said Minister Peter Hanke.
Investment instead of ideology: Secure infrastructure for all transport modes
For Hanke, the message is clear: "Austria doesn't need a discussion about who is ‘morally right’ on the road – whether by car, bike or on foot. We need infrastructure that provides space and safety for all." The drastic increase in bicycle and e-bike accidents (highest number since 2002) shows, according to the Minister: "In the last few years, we have indeed got more people onto bikes – but haven't built the protective infrastructure everywhere they need."
Therefore, the BMIMI is acting on three levels:
- Concrete infrastructure offensive for active mobility
- Expansion of protected cycle paths along federal roads (180 million Euro in the ASFINAG framework plan)
- Secure crossing points at accident hotspots (data analysis by AIT)
- 200 new multimodal mobility hubs by 2029 with secure bicycle parking facilities
- Clear rules for new forms of mobility
The omnibus amendment to the Traffic Regulations prepared by the BMIMI will make mobility on two wheels safer:- E-mopeds: Classification as motor vehicles with registration, licence and insurance requirements as well as mandatory helmets
- E-scooters: Clear definition as vehicles, helmet requirement up to 16 years, equipped with indicators/bells, 0.5º/₀₀ limit
- E-bikes: Helmet requirement up to 14 years – as part of the "Vision Zero" for children
- Vision Zero for children – with measurable milestones
"We create clarity for everyone on the move – whether on foot, by bike, scooter or car", according to Hanke. "And we especially protect the most vulnerable: our children."
Eight children died in road traffic in 2025. "Each individual one is one too many," stresses Hanke. "That's why we set ourselves the goal: By 2030 no child should die in road traffic."
Concrete steps
- 2026: Launch of the nationwide helmet campaign for children
- 2027: Traffic safety education in every kindergarten and elementary school in Austria (pilot project with 200 schools starts in 2026)
- 2028: All school routes on federal roads equipped with secure crossings
- 2029: Evaluation and adjustment based on accident figures
Technology for safety: Intelligent systems instead of rigid prohibitions
The BMIMI is specifically promoting research projects through the Traffic Safety Fund (VSF), such as the safety of children in cargo bikes or intelligent warning systems for turning accidents. Another component: automated, camera-based access management for municipalities.
"We provide communities with the tools to calm residential areas – efficiently, without constant controls and transparently for everyone," explains Hanke.
Main cause of accidents: Unawareness instead of penalties
At 30.5 percent, unawareness/distraction remains the main cause of fatal accidents.
"We can't solve every mistake with prohibitions," says Hanke. "But we can build infrastructure that forgives mistakes – wider audits, protected cycle paths, intelligent assistance systems."
In parallel, a major awareness campaign on helmets starts in 2026 – "not as a finger-pointing, but as protection everyone has in their own hands."
Investing in safety is an investment in freedom
"Safe mobility is the foundation for a free life," emphasises Hanke in conclusion. "Anyone who has to fear when their child cycles to school is not free. Anyone who, as a motorist, constantly has conflicts with cyclists is not free. With modern infrastructure and clear rules, we create the basis for everyone to move safely – and indeed together, not against each other."