False driver on A70: Held stops ghost trip near Gundelsheim!

False driver on A70: Held stops ghost trip near Gundelsheim!

On Friday morning, June 20, 2025, a explosive scenario with two false drivers who were traveling in the direction of Bayreuth occurred on the A70 in the Bamberg district. The incident took place around 6.20 a.m. and could only be ended by the courageous use of a witness. This stopped the ghost drivers in the area of ​​a construction site and possibly prevented worse consequences. He once again showed that civil courage is essential in road traffic. After stopping, the false drivers turned and left the highway a little later, without an impairment or injury to other road users. The police have now started the investigation and asks possible witnesses to report on 0951/9129-510.

The incident illustrates a growing problem: There are about 2000 warning reports in Germany every year, such as the UDV reports. In 2021 there were 83 accidents with ghost drivers, 24 of which ended tragically. A major concern of accident research by the insurers is to clarify that many of these ghost trips are done on purpose. In around a third of the cases, the false driver turned in flowing traffic - an obviously dangerous maneuver.

psychological factors

A terrifying knowledge is that over 40% of ghost drivers are over 75 years old and often suffer from dementia or confusion. In younger false drivers, attempts to escape in front of the police or suicidal intentions are often the main causes of risky behavior. The accident research by the insurers also emphasizes that emotionally unstable people, often male and without accompanying, are among the most common perpetrators. The numbers show that men also make up over 79% of the false drivers and that the majority complain about alcohol -related or emotional problems.

The measures to prevent such dangerous driving maneuvers have so far only been effective. Specialists have found that wrong trips take place particularly often on weekends and at night as well as with low traffic density. The UDV is already experimenting with technical systems that could be integrated into vehicles in order to warn both false drivers and other road users.

Enlightenment requested

What can be done to reduce these dangers in road traffic? The UDV recommends clearer labels and structural separations on entrances and trips. Innovative app-based systems could spread traffic and ghost driver reports and thus contribute to active safety in road traffic. The behavior of road users is also becoming increasingly relevant due to educational actions. In the event of a ghost driver message, drivers should drive on the right and absolutely switch on warning flashing lights to draw attention to how dangerous these situations can be.