He is an avid cyclist, said Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) on Monday at the press conference to present the Bavarian traffic accident statistics. Accordingly, Herrmann was most appalled by the high number of bicycle accidents. Strictly speaking, this is not only high, but the highest since data collection began in Bavaria more than 65 years ago.
The police recorded 19,646 bicycle accidents in 2022 – more than ever before. 84 cyclists died, last time there were more in 2009. Herrmann described the numbers as “worrying”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/. “We must succeed in decoupling growth in cycling from growth in accidents,” he said when presenting the figures at the police headquarters in Central Franconia in Nuremberg.
Bernadette Felsch, the state chair of the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in Bavaria, was “dismayed” by the development. She blamed the “poor general conditions” for the negative trend. “Maintenance and the urgently needed expansion of the cycle path network are not being pursued with the necessary seriousness,” criticized Felsch.
Meanwhile, Hermann emphasized that in a good third of the bicycle accidents only cyclists and no other road users were involved. And he referred to the high number of accidents caused by cyclists themselves – that’s more than two thirds. He cited driving under the influence of alcohol and carelessness as the causes. “Many cyclists feel that they can use a bike lane in both directions,” he said. They would sometimes be overlooked by drivers. Herrmann was downright outraged by cyclists who rode at night without lights. “It’s a really unacceptable risk,” he said.
The ADFC state chairman Felsch, on the other hand, once again identified infrastructure deficiencies as the causes of the accidents, in which only cyclists are involved: “curbs that are too high, potholes, dirt, lack of clearance”.
The proportion of fatal bicycle accidents involving pedelecs (approximately one third), i.e. bicycles with an electric motor for support, is particularly high. Many cyclists would underestimate the speed of their companions, says Herrmann.
The Minister of the Interior announced further investments in cycling infrastructure to increase safety and promote the turnaround in traffic: “We have to make cycling even safer.” In particular, he called on pedelec drivers to take part in ADFC driver safety training courses: “No one is so good that they don’t need it at all.” With a view to the general increase in cycling, Herrmann spoke of a “hype” and a “gratifying contribution to climate protection”.
“We have to keep up the pressure to control”
Overall, the number of traffic accidents in Bavaria in 2022 fell compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019 – even though the number of registered vehicles increased. With 375,700 accidents in 2022, the value fell by almost ten percent compared to 2019. “Compared to 2019, we recorded significantly fewer traffic accidents and accident victims in 2022. This continues the positive trend of previous years,” said Herrmann. With the exception of the pandemic years, with 519 deaths in Bavaria, fewer people have ever died in traffic accidents than in 2022.
As expected, however, the total number of accidents in 2022 was higher than in 2021, namely by 4.7 percent. In the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, traffic and, as a result, accidents due to the mobility restrictions caused by the corona virus had decreased significantly.
Country roads remain a problem. 315 of the 519 people killed died here – often because of drunk driving or speeding. “Actually, reason speaks for sticking to the speed limit,” said Hermann. “Unfortunately, however, it is clearly noticeable that many only pay attention to them when they are afraid of being flashed. That’s why we have to keep up the control pressure.” According to Hermann, excessive speed was the cause of 91 deaths on country roads (147 cases in total).
Not only with regard to the country roads, but also in principle, he pointed out alcohol (preceded a death in 58 cases) and drugs (nine cases) as relevant causes of accidents. Herrmann also called on road users not to carelessly endanger their safety. “It’s irresponsible if parents don’t buckle up on the way to kindergarten because it’s maybe only two kilometers away,” he said, adding with a view to accident investigations from 2022: “52 people could still be alive if they had only been buckled up. “