PRESENTLY, THE WESTERN GERMAN TRAFFIC CODE IS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT THE PROSECUTION OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS WILL PREVENT ACCIDENTS. SPEEDING, FAILURE TO YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY, FAILURE TO STOP AT RED LIGHTS, AND DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL ARE AMONG POLICE PRIORITIES IN PUNISHING TRAFFIC OFFENDERS. HOWEVER, EMPIRICAL STUDIES INDICATE THAT POLICE CONTROLS HAVE LITTLE SUCCESS IN ENFORCING THE DESIRED BEHAVIOR; DESPITE FINES AND THE REGISTRATION OF TRAFFIC OFFENDERS, RADAR TRAPS REVEALED A STAGGERING NUMBER OF SPEED OFFENSES IN THE STREETS SURVEYED. AN EQUALLY LARGE NUMBER OF OFFENDERS WAS DETECTED WITH AN AUTOMATIC CAMERA WAS INSTALLED AT A RED-LIGHT CROSSING. LONG TERM RESULTS INDICATE THAT DRIVERS OBEY TRAFFIC REGULATIONS IF THEY FEEL THEMSELVES UNDER OBSERVATION, BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS RESUME THEIR RECKLESS BEHAVIOR. AN ATTEMPTED CORRELATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE (RADAR TRAPS, PATROLS, AUTOMATIC CAMERAS) AND ACCIDENT RATES FAILED TO YIELD CONCLUSIVE RESULTS. ONLY THE ACCIDENTS DUE TO DRUNKEN DRIVING HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED SINCE 1971 AS A RESULT OF INCREASED ALCOHOL CONTROLS. IN GENERAL, POLICE POSSIBILITIES FOR ENFORCING TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LOWERING THE ACCIDENT RATE ARE LIMITED DUE TO THE GREAT NUMBER OF POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS AND THE ENORMOUS TERRITORY TO BE COVERED. RATHER THAN TRYING TO ENFORCE ALL TRAFFIC REGULATIONS, POLICE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON THOSE VIOLATIONS FOR WHICH SURVEILLANCE IS MOST EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING ACCIDENTS (E.G., ALCOHOL OFFENSES). MORE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DISCOVER THESE AREAS OF GREATEST EFFICIENCY. THE ARTICLE CONTAINS NUMEROUS CHARTS (STATISTICS) AND SEVERAL FOOTNOTES. --IN GERMAN. (SAJ)