2021 is the new contender for the year with the fewest road deaths nationwide since the Bavarian accident statistics were introduced in 1953. However, the total number of road accidents on the roads in Bavaria has risen to 359,002 compared to the previous year – an increase of 3.9 percent. Nevertheless, the number of road fatalities fell to an all-time low of 443. In 2020 it was 484. The number of injuries also fell by 0.9 percent. This trend is confirmed in the commuter district of Ebersberg. “This development can also be broken down to Ebersberg,” says Stephan Mittermeier, chief inspector of the police inspection in Ebersberg.
There was only one death in the county last year. In 2020 there were six and in 2019 ten. Although the total accidents in 2021 in the presidential area increased by 6.7 percent compared to the previous year, the number remains well below the figures for the years before the pandemic.
Corona influences the number of accidents
According to the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria North, the pandemic made a significant contribution to this development. The continuing fundamental fear of infections, the second corona lockdown from January to May 2021 and various restrictions on travel and contacts have also influenced people’s mobility in 2021. “Corona definitely has an impact on the number of accidents,” says Mittermeier. “The pandemic years are roughly balanced. In 2019 we had a total of 3,204 accidents – over 19 percent more than in 2020.” After all, the streets had been swept empty in the past two years.
“In 2021 there was more traffic again,” says Mittermeier. As a result, the total number of traffic accidents on the roads in the district also increased. The number of accidents involving wildlife rose by 4.4 percent and road accidents involving property damage by 14.3 percent to a total of 1,554. Nevertheless, the number of road accidents involving personal injury fell by 8.8 percent. Overall, the traffic accidents caused an estimated total damage of 5.99 million euros. Almost one million euros more than in 2020, when the total costs amounted to around 5.06 million euros.
Carelessness often leads to accidents
The most frequent causes of accidents were accidents with an insufficient safety distance – these include rear-end collisions but also hitting parked cars (278). This is followed by accidents caused by mistakes when reversing (230), accidents in which priority rules or the right-hand drive requirement were violated (129) and accidents with inappropriate speed (92). “Speed is always at the top,” says Mittermeier. And the fact that the folk festivals were canceled is also reflected in the statistics. The number of accidents involving drugs and alcohol also fell from 55 to 52.
The police chief inspector is pleased that the number of people injured has fallen and that last year there was only one fatality in the entire district – a historic low.
Will this trend continue next year? “That depends on how much mobility Corona will allow in the next few years,” says Mittermeier. Regardless of the pandemic, the aim of the police headquarters in Ebersberg is to find solutions for dangerous accident sites in the district. Any measures should be taken to prevent accidents. “There are always certain accident spots that we take care of and try to find possible solutions,” says the police chief inspector. “For example with traffic monitoring, traffic signs or structural measures.” Especially on the EBE 12 district road in Moosach in the direction of Zorneding and on the B304 near Baldham, there would be more traffic accidents.