Status: 02/24/2023 12:41 p.m
2782 people died in traffic accidents last year – an increase of nine percent compared to 2021. The number of injuries also increased. In 2022, after the pandemic, there were more cars on the streets again.
The number of dead and injured in traffic accidents has risen significantly in the past year. 2,782 people died on the roads in Germany, 9 percent more than in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office, citing preliminary figures. The numbers are even lower than before the pandemic: 3,046 people died on the roads in 2019.
The number of people injured also rose in 2022: 358,000 people were injured in accidents, around eleven percent more than in 2021. But that is also fewer than in 2019 with 384,230 injuries.
Pandemic as a reason for fewer accidents
In 2021, the number of road deaths due to lockdowns, working from home and homeschooling was lower than ever before – a historic low.
The police registered around 2.4 million accidents across Germany in 2022, an increase of four percent compared to 2021. Before the corona pandemic, the number of accidents was also eleven percent higher. Around 2.1 million accidents resulted in property damage.
The Federal Office has detailed figures for the period from January to November 2022. With an increase of 60 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, the number of road deaths rose particularly sharply among pedelec drivers. For bicycles without an auxiliary motor, there was an increase of 14 percent.
In addition, 11 percent more pedestrians died, 7 percent more drivers and 2 percent more people on motorcycles.