Serious accident on B 78: Two injured after overtaking maneuver in Obdach

Serious accident on B 78: Two injured after overtaking maneuver in Obdach

On April 30, 2025, a serious traffic accident occurred on the B 78 in the municipality of Obdach, in which two people were injured. The incident happened around 7:25 a.m. when a 33-year-old driver from the Murtal district tried to overtake a tractor with a trailer. He overlooked an oncoming car, which led to a dramatic accident.

The overtaken vehicle, a tractor with a trailer, was also driven by a 33-year-old man from the Murtal district. The oncoming car, however, was driven by a 56-year-old driver from the same district. As a result, there was initially a side collision between the overtaking car and the tractor trailer, followed by a head-on collision with the oncoming vehicle.

Injured people and emergency services

The 56-year-old driver of the oncoming car suffered serious injuries and was flown to LKH Graz in a rescue helicopter. The 33-year-old driver of the overtaking car sustained minor injuries and was taken to Judenburg Hospital. The tractor driver remained uninjured.

The Obdach fire department was on site with 15 emergency services and three vehicles. To ensure that rescue work and the police could record the accident, the B 78 was closed in both directions between 7:25 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Background and accident statistics in the EU

The accident in Obdach is part of a worrying trend on the roads, where thousands of people in the EU are seriously injured or even killed in road accidents every year. According to statistics, there were 22,800 road deaths in the EU in 2019, although the number was reduced by 4,000 in 2020. The majority of these accidents could be avoided by driving responsibly and following traffic rules. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of road deaths in Europe fell by 36 percent. However, road safety remains a serious challenge for all road users, especially inexperienced drivers and younger vehicle occupants.

For comparison, traffic accident statistics in the EU show that Sweden has the safest roads with only 18 traffic deaths per million inhabitants, while Romania tops the sad statistics with 85 traffic deaths per million inhabitants. The overall EU average is 42 road deaths per million inhabitants. These figures illustrate the importance of further preventative measures in road traffic.

For further information on the incident in Obdach, we refer to the reports from fireworld.at and 5min.at, while providing comprehensive data on traffic accidents europarl.europa.eu are visible.