Federal Office of Statistics
In 2022, an average of eight people died on the roads every day
In 2022, the police registered around 2.4 million accidents. 2788 people lost their lives
© Bernd Wüstneck / DPA
The number of road fatalities increased in 2022 compared to the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 2,788 people died in accidents on German roads – an average of almost eight per day. However, the number is below the level of the pre-Corona period.
Although the number of fatalities and injuries in road accidents increased significantly last year, it was still below the pre-Corona level. According to final data from the Federal Statistical Office, a total of 2,788 people died in road accidents in 2022, nine percent more than in 2021. Around 361,000 people were injured last year, which corresponds to an increase of twelve percent. 2021 had the Corona pandemic with lockdown, home office and home schooling caused less traffic. The number of deaths on the streets had dropped to an all-time low.
But even in 2022, the number of dead and injured remained at a particularly low level, the Federal Office in Wiesbaden said on Wednesday. On average, there were 989 injuries and eight fatalities every day. And: The numbers were even lower than in the pre-Corona year 2019.
Most road deaths were in cars
Seven out of ten accidents in which a person was injured happened in built-up areas in 2022. Almost a quarter of these occurred on country roads and six percent on motorways. Because of the higher speed, however, accidents outside of towns often have worse consequences, said the Federal Statistical Office. There are additional risk factors on rural roads.
Most fatalities were in a car, namely 43 percent. Before the accident, 18 percent of road fatalities were on motorcycles or scooters, 17 percent on bicycles and 13 percent on foot.
Police registered 2.4 million traffic accidents last year
Overall, the police registered around 2.4 million accidents last year, 4 percent more than in 2021. Compared to 2019, however, there was a decrease of 10.4 percent. In the vast majority of cases, there was only property damage. What is striking, however, is the increase in alcohol-related accidents, the statisticians explained. While the numbers varied between 34,000 and 36,000 from 2015 to 2019 and they were below 33,000 during the pandemic, 38,771 alcohol-related accidents were recorded last year. That was 19 percent more than in the previous year.
The statisticians had already announced their provisional figures for road accidents, deaths and injuries in February. There are some deviations, especially with the absolute numbers. This is due, for example, to the fact that an estimate is included in the preliminary data, explained a spokeswoman for the Federal Office.