Serious car accidents can often be put down to technical malfunctions resulting from poor maintenance or a lack of servicing, several experts said.

Around 10 per cent of accidents in Germany alone can be directly attributed to technical faults, says Alexander Berg, a researcher of at the DEKRA testing authority.

"We are seeing serious accidents again and again because of faulty mechanics. Many of these accidents don't appear in statistics because not every car involved in an accident is investigated by an expert," Berg argues.

This is especially the case in accidents where no other car is involved, he says.

Germany's TUeV road testing authority annually tests some seven million vehicles. Last year, some 18.2 per cent of the vehicles were found to have serious mechanical faults and were refused the roadworthy certification. In most cases the testers found defects in the brakes, lighting and chassis.

In most cases, the problems can be attributed to motorists failing to take their car for a regular service or having the service done on the cheap by backyard mechanics.

What makes the problem all the more serious is that most of the poorly serviced vehicles are driven by young men who account for the high-risk accident group.

"Young men mostly drive cheap, old cars and don't have the money to service them and carry out the necessary repairs. The risk of an accident increases proportionately," says Berg.

What frustrates the researchers is that most of these accidents are avoidable. A leaking or porous brake hose is easily detected during a normal service and would not burst the next time the driver has to apply full braking power.

This is one of the reasons why authorities in Germany are debating whether to send older cars to an annual roadworthy test.

"Many drivers simply avoid the thought of what might happen during a brake failure," Berg says.