Legislative Criminal Policy in the Prevention of Extra-Urban Road Offenses (A Comparative Study of Iranian and German Law)

The prevention of offenses related to extra-urban roads—particularly violations leading to road traffic accidents—is one of the fundamental challenges in the criminal policy-making of nations and requires the formulation and implementation of an efficient, evidence-based, and deterrent legislative criminal policy. This article, through a comparative approach, examines the legislative criminal policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Federal Republic of Germany in the domain of preventing extra-urban road crimes. The findings indicate that Iran primarily adopts a traditional punitive approach, focusing on post-offense penalties such as imprisonment, fines, and temporary suspension of driving licenses, while lacking effective preventive infrastructures such as mandatory education programs, psychological assessments, or a comprehensive demerit point system. Germany's criminal policy, by emphasizing specific prevention, the rehabilitation of high-risk drivers, and inter-institutional coordination, has achieved significant outcomes in reducing the incidence of road-related offenses, especially on extra-urban routes. Ultimately, the study suggests that Iran's legislative criminal policy should move toward a more integrated and preventive model by drawing on Germany's successful experience and avoiding exclusive reliance on penal sanctions.