Road safety in Germany has reached a very high level in recent decades. The German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS), which has now been running for more than 20 years, has made a significant contribution to this. The findings and results obtained from this study are continuously incorporated into the further development of road safety measures via the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt). At the same time, they serve as a basis for new vehicle safety and assistance systems, which are made available to the industry via the Forschungsvereinigung Automobiltechnik e.V. (FAT) and made available to the industry.

However, new technological developments and mobility concepts as well as social trends will influence the parameters in the field of road safety in the long term. Just a few examples of this are increasing electrification, automation and networking. These are already showing far-reaching consequences in the daily interaction of all road users in German road traffic.

To be able to continue to assess the effects on road safety in advance via research and development and to be able to initiate measures at an early stage, adjustments are also required in the collection and evaluation of data within GIDAS.

To this end, the modules contained in GIDAS are being revised both in terms of content and methodology. In particular, new modules will be added to the project so that current and future questions can be answered. In addition, the competences in the areas of infrastructure, psychology and medicine will be strengthened. The results of specifically initiated research projects will be used for this purpose.

In order to continue to provide GIDAS with data during this transitional phase, the continuous survey at the Dresden site will take place until the end of 2022. The aim is to continue GIDAS in the new orientation from 2023.

Thus, GIDAS is and will continue to be the essential data basis for the project's financiers, the BASt and the FAT.