Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
Reckless driving is on the rise, yet fewer offenders are being charged.
Deadly crashes caused by extreme speeding and dangerous driving continue to shake Denmark.
While new figures show a decline in charges, serious accidents are still claiming lives.
Now the government says further action is on the way.
A 65-year-old man was killed on 19 August 2025 in a crash on Roskildevej in Valby, Copenhagen. A 17-year-old boy was behind the wheel.
Earlier this month, the now 18-year-old driver was convicted of negligent manslaughter under particularly aggravating circumstances and sentenced to five years in prison. The verdict has been appealed to the High Court.
The case forms part of 164 charges of reckless driving brought in 2025 in incidents that ended in traffic accidents, according to data from the National Police’s internal system, Polsas, obtained by DR News. The figures refer to charges, not final convictions.
A Noticeable Drop
The 164 cases mark a roughly 10 percent decrease from 2024, when 182 people were charged under Denmark’s reckless driving laws in crashes.
Since stricter legislation came into force on 31 March 2021, police have filed 970 charges in reckless driving cases involving traffic accidents. Over the three full years the law has been active, the number has fallen by about 37 percent.
In 2022, there were 260 such charges. By 2025, that figure had dropped to 164. Overall charges for reckless driving, including cases without accidents, declined from 1,301 in 2022 to 828 in 2025.
Still Too Many
“164 sigtelser er i min optik 164 for mange. Det er folk, som rent faktisk er kørt galt,” said Police Commissioner Sune Fletcher Hjortel.
He noted that while not all crashes are severe, authorities aim to push the numbers as low as possible. He also pointed to police powers to confiscate vehicles, even if borrowed or leased, as an important deterrent.
970 of more than 5,000 reckless driving charges since 2021 have involved accidents, representing 20 percent of cases. Several have been fatal.
Calls For Action
In December, a 36-year-old man was sentenced by the High Court to six years and nine months in prison after driving under the influence of nitrous oxide at high speed and crashing head-on into a car carrying three elderly passengers, all of whom died.
Lawmakers have since introduced zero tolerance for nitrous oxide driving and increased penalties by 33 percent for offences including negligent manslaughter and causing danger.
“It is not cool to drive recklessly. It is not cool to race and compete on public streets,” Hjortel said, urging young drivers to understand the risks.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a written statement: “Vi er fra regeringens side ikke færdig med at stramme skruen over for vanvidsbilister, som med hovedet under armen træder på speederen og udsætter andre for fare med deres hensynsløse kørsel, og vi vil løbende se på mulighederne for at skærpe indsatsen.”
A proposal currently in consultation would see drivers convicted of negligent manslaughter while under the influence automatically banned from driving for three years, regardless of blood alcohol level.
Sources: DR
