Although the automobile has been a boon to the individual in terms of mobility and quality of life, it also has its negative aspects. Together with industry and private households, cars are one of the main sources of air pollution. For several years now, owners of low-emission cars have enjoyed tax concessions. The emission-oriented motor vehicle tax which was introduced on 1 July 1997 is a further incentive for purchasing low-emission automobiles.

Road safety is constantly being improved, mainly through modern roads, traffic education, the advance of traffic technology and the construction of increasingly safer cars. In spite of increasing mobility and traffic density in the Federal Republic, the number of road fatalities in 1996 (about 8,700) was the lowest on record since the introduction of road traffic accident statistics in 1953. In the new federal states, too, the negative trend has meanwhile been broken, but improving road safety remains an ongoing task.