In Paris, there are 1,191 dangerous actions per 1,000 analyzed trips, which is higher than Madrid's 1,088 and far higher than Berlin's 225.
Paris, November 5, 2026 / PRNewswire / -- Geotab has released new data for its European City Freight Efficiency Index today. Geotab is a leader in the fields of global networked operations, video-based in-vehicle telematics, and artificial intelligence analytics. The results show that among the seven European capitals studied, there are significant differences: for the same number of trips, dangerous actions such as sudden braking, sudden acceleration, and sharp turns by commercial vehicles in Paris can be up to 5.3 times more frequent than in Berlin.
This analysis is based on over 130 million trips completed by vehicles connected to the Geotab system in 2025, and it categorizes three types of dangerous events according to GPS data: sudden acceleration, sudden braking, and sharp turns. Berlin has the lowest incidence rate, with 225 such events per 1,000 trips, followed by Dublin with 315, Amsterdam with 356, Rome with 393, and London with 462. In comparison, Madrid has 1,088 such events, and Paris has 1,191. The number of dangerous events per trip in Paris is 5.3 times that of Berlin, and in Madrid, it is 4.8 times.
In addition to frequency, the types of dangerous driving behaviors also vary from city to city. In Paris, nearly 80% of incidents are related to sudden acceleration, accounting for 79%; in Madrid, this figure is 69%. In Berlin and London, the distribution between acceleration and braking is more balanced. Amsterdam and Rome have the highest proportions of sudden turns, at 34% and 27% respectively. Drivers who frequently accelerate suddenly may benefit more from in-car coaching and alerts; whereas if drivers tend to brake and turn suddenly more often, it often indicates issues with road intersection design or route selection.
The study also indicates that there is a correlation between traffic flow and the frequency of dangerous driving incidents. Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Rome scored the highest in terms of freight efficiency in the index and are also the cities with the fewest dangerous incidents. On the contrary, Paris, London, and Madrid have the highest rates of dangerous driving behavior and rank lower in the index. It is noteworthy that although Paris has a higher efficiency score than London and Madrid, it experiences more dangerous driving incidents.
The location where the events occur is also important. The three busiest areas in Amsterdam account for 13.7% of the city's aggressive driving behavior, which is the highest concentration observed in the study. In Dublin, the three busiest areas are all located on the same road – Naas Road ( N7 ). In contrast, events in London are more dispersed throughout the road network, with the busiest areas accounting for only 0.6%. In Berlin, Madrid, Paris, and Rome, the busiest areas each account for between 1.7% and 2.6% of the total. In other words, in each city, only a few intersections and sections of roads are responsible for a considerable proportion of dangerous driving behavior.
Paris: The city with the most dangerous driving incidents in this study
Paris has the highest number of impulsive driving actions among the seven studied cities, with 1,191 occurrences per 1,000 trips, which is 5.3 times higher than in Berlin. Sudden accelerations account for the majority, at 79%, far exceeding sudden brakings (15%) and sharp turns (6.5%). This phenomenon may be partly related to rapid restarts after parking. For fleet managers in Paris, driver training and coaching are the primary means of improving such driving behaviors.
In Paris, the areas most severely affected are located in the 18th district, near Porte, de, la, and Chapelle; these areas account for 1.8% of all recorded incidents. Other hotspots include the area along the inner ring road of Paris, as well as sections in the western part of Paris leading in the direction of La Défense. The peak of incidents in Paris occurred at the latest, at 7 p.m.
Although Paris ranks only fifth in the overall efficiency index with a score of 37 out of 100, the incidence of dangerous sudden accelerations, sudden brakings, and sharp turns is the highest in the study. The report states that these observations indicate a correlation between Paris's road safety performance and its overall efficiency score – despite Paris's efficiency score still being higher than that of London and Madrid, which also rank among the top in terms of the number of dangerous maneuvers.
Berlin: The city with the most favorable conditions in this study
In Berlin, only 225 dangerous driving incidents are recorded per 1,000 trips, which occurs approximately once every four to five trips. Sudden acceleration accounts for 45%, sudden braking accounts for 44%, with both being nearly equivalent, while sharp turns account for only 10%. This lower proportion may be related to the city's wide and straight avenues.
Berlin's multi-center urban structure – which is organized around multiple centers rather than a single city center – also helps to distribute traffic throughout the entire road network. The busiest areas are located near Spandauer Damm, Spandau, and Westend in Charlottenburg; each of these areas accounts for about 2% of all traffic incidents. Geotab states that Berlin can serve as a reference for understanding the efficient operation of road networks.
Rome: The streets are narrow, but the traffic is smooth.
Rome records 393 incidents per 1,000 trips, ranking fourth in terms of efficiency. However, the city has the lowest congestion score in the study. Sudden braking is the most common type of incident, accounting for 40%; sudden acceleration accounts for 33%; and sudden turns account for 27%. This is second-highest only to Amsterdam, which may be related to the narrow and winding streets in the historic city center. Rome's star-shaped road network distributes traffic demands across multiple radial roads. The busiest areas include the EUR business district (accounting for 2.6% of incidents) and the A1 / A24 interchange located east of Porta Maggiore (0.7%). The incidence of these dangerous actions is lower than in London, suggesting that a slow but steady traffic flow may be safer than a stop-and-go traffic situation.
Performance should be interpreted in conjunction with the characteristics of each city.
These results indicate that the same number of dangerous driving incidents has different implications in different cities. If a driver records 1,000 incidents per 1,000 trips, this is close to the average in Madrid, but it is much higher than average in Berlin. For fleet operators, comparing their performance with local data helps to set more appropriate goals and to distinguish between driving behaviors that need improvement and the difficulties inherent in the infrastructure or routes themselves.
Geotab EMEA Vice President Fran ç ois Denis states: "To correctly interpret driving behavior data, it is essential to consider the specific circumstances of each city. What is considered common impetuous driving in Madrid may be a warning sign in Berlin. Therefore, the measures taken must be tailored to local conditions. When sudden accelerations are frequent, in-car coaching and real-time reminders can be effective; whereas if the problem mainly lies in sharp turns at certain intersections, optimizing route planning might be a more effective approach. This is precisely the value of data and comparative analysis: it helps fleet managers better understand the difficulties on the roads and identify the most appropriate countermeasures. Video remote information processing can also further reveal the specific circumstances of each event, thereby helping drivers improve based on real scenarios."
For the complete report, please refer to here.
Methodology
The European Urban Freight Efficiency Index assigns a score of 0 to 100 to each city, based on two dimensions: evaluations are conducted separately for passenger cars and trucks, which are then combined with a weight ratio of 60/40 (passenger cars/trucks). The first dimension measures traffic fluidity, accounting for 75% of the total score for each type of vehicle, and includes three indicators: the level of congestion, periods of smooth traffic, and fluctuations in travel time. The second dimension accounts for the remaining 25% and measures the impact of congestion through the amount of time vehicles spend idling during their trips. Road safety results are analyzed separately from the overall efficiency score, based on data from connected vehicles that identify sudden accelerations, sudden brakings, and sharp turns. These events are counted per 1,000 trips to enable comparisons between cities of different sizes. The study also identifies areas with the most frequent dangerous maneuvers by measuring the proportion of such events recorded within each geographic grid area.
Since the events are located based on GPS data rather than acceleration sensor detection, they may be underestimated on short sections of road and overestimated on curved roads. Therefore, these results are suitable for comparing trends between cities, but they do not represent a complete statistics of accidents or traffic incidents. All data comes from the Geotab connected vehicle management platform, covering the period from January to December 2025, and involves seven European cities: Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, Rome, Paris, London, and Madrid. The results are based on a sample of connected vehicles, not all vehicles on the road.
About Geotab
Geotab is a leader in the fields of global networked operations, video remote information processing, and artificial intelligence analytics. The company has earned the trust of over 100,000 customers, including small and medium-sized fleets, Fortune 500 companies, as well as public institutions such as the U.S. federal government. Geotab connects approximately 6 million vehicles and assets, processing 100 billion data points daily. With certifications such as ISO / IEC 27001:2022, SOC2, FIPS 140-3, and FedRAMP, its open platform and ecosystem composed of more than 700 partners unify security, compliance, and operations within a single system. The company's mission is to make the world on the move safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.
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