The daily journey to work or home harbors dangers: According to official data, more people are currently being injured on German roads than in the previous year. The Federal Statistical Office has not only recorded an increasing trend among the injured.
In Germany, more than 360,000 people are injured in road traffic every year: The number of dead and injured in traffic accidents rose significantly last year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office based on preliminary figures.
2,782 people died in traffic accidents on the roads last year. This corresponds to an increase of nine percent compared to the previous year. Around 358,000 people were injured nationwide in accidents involving cars, two-wheelers, trucks or vans – an increase of eleven percent.
A possible reason for the recent upward trend could be the omission of the corona measures, it is said. In 2021, contact restrictions, working from home and home schooling had reduced traffic on the streets overall. Fewer vehicles were on the roads, and there were fewer accidents overall in Germany.
The reduced traffic volume had a positive side effect: the number of road deaths reached an all-time low during the pandemic. Overall, there are far fewer fatalities than in the past in German road traffic – despite the significant increase in registered vehicles. For comparison: At the beginning of the 1970s, more than 19,000 people died on the roads in West Germany alone.
Gradually introduced regulations such as speed limits, blood alcohol limits or seat belts were intended to curb the catastrophic consequences of mass mobility. There were also technical advances in vehicle safety, such as the development of crumple zones or airbags. The number of fatalities has steadily decreased over the past decades.
After the pandemic phase, the year 2022 will not reach the level of the pre-corona year 2019, as the Federal Office announced. The number of fatalities in accidents was nine percent below the level from this year. Compared to the years 2019 and 2022, there was still a minus of seven percent for the injured.
Overall, the police registered around 2.4 million accidents last year, four percent more than in 2021, as the statisticians reported. Compared to 2019, there is a decrease of eleven percent. So far, the Federal Office has only received detailed figures for the period from January to November 2022. The detailed evaluation of the December figures is still pending.
With 60 percent compared to the same period last year, the number of road deaths rose particularly sharply among pedelec riders, with bicycles without an auxiliary motor there was an increase of 14 percent. In addition, eleven percent more pedestrians died, seven percent more drivers and two percent more motorcyclists.
