Less traffic on the roads during the pandemic – fewer serious accidents: that was also the case last year. A low point was reached again.
Wiesbaden (dpa) – According to preliminary figures, 2569 people died in traffic accidents in Germany last year and thus fewer than ever since records began more than 60 years ago.
The decrease was six percent compared to the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday. The main reason was the reduced traffic as a result of the corona pandemic.
As early as 2020, the number of road deaths had reached a low, when 2,719 people were killed nationwide. The decline from 2021 to 2019, the year before the pandemic, is said to be 16 percent. At that time, 3046 fatalities were recorded.
The number of people injured in 2021 fell by two percent compared to the previous year to around 321,000 people. The police recorded around 2.3 million accidents, three percent more than in 2020. In 2.1 million accidents, property damage remained (plus four percent). The number of accidents in which people were injured or killed fell by two percent to around 258,000 accidents.
In contrast to the previous year, 2021 was completely shaped by the corona pandemic. The Federal Office had already stated in a forecast in December that it looked like a new low. Since the 1970s, the number of traffic fatalities has tended to fall thanks to ever-improving safety systems. Accident researchers had criticized the fact that some road users were recently unable to benefit so much from the positive statistical development – especially cyclists. dpa
