After the end of most corona-related restrictions, the number of road deaths in Germany is expected to rise significantly by nine percent to around 2790 this year. This is the result of estimates published by the Federal Statistical Office on Monday based on data for the months of January to September.
According to this, a trend reversal is becoming apparent this year after the number of road deaths in the two years 2020 and 2021, which were characterized by the corona pandemic, had fallen to historic lows. In 2021, only 2562 road fatalities were counted. This year it is expected to be over 220 or nine percent more, said the Federal Office in Wiesbaden.
The number of injuries and the number of accidents will therefore probably increase again in 2022. The statisticians expect the number of injuries to increase by nine percent to around 353,000. According to their estimates, the number of all accidents recorded by the police in Germany will increase by four percent to more than 2.4 million.
The background to the development is that the number of kilometers driven on German roads is increasing again after the end of the corona restrictions and the waning of the pandemic. However, the estimated total figures for this year will not reach the level before the corona crisis. In 2019, 3,046 people died in around 2.7 million traffic accidents.
The number of road deaths has fallen massively in recent decades due to improvements in road safety. It had risen rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, peaking at more than 21,000 in 1970. After that, speed limits, blood alcohol limits and seat belt and helmet requirements were introduced. In addition, there were safer cars.
