Slight increase in traffic accidents – Stuttgart Journal

After a historic low last year and the meanwhile largely normalization of public life in the third Corona year, there has been a slight increase in the number of traffic accidents. The most important things in brief In 2022, the police registered 21,466 traffic accidents in the Stuttgart city area.

The number of accidents rose by around seven percent compared to the previous year.

On average, there were 59 accidents a day on Stuttgart’s streets last year, in which an average of five people were injured every day.

However, this still does not reach the pre-corona level from 2018 to 2020, when an average of over 24,000 accidents were counted.

Number of road traffic injuries increased slightly

In 2022, a total of 2,023 people were injured in traffic accidents, which corresponds to an increase of almost eight percent. This means that the historically low level of the previous year will no longer be reached. The number of seriously injured fell slightly from 173 to 171.

The number of minor injuries fell by around nine percent, from 1,701 to 1,850 overall main causes of accidents.

Fortunately, the number of people killed on the road has also fallen – from five to two people.

main causes of accidents

In contrast to the nationwide main cause of accidents, “excessive and inappropriate speed”, in the urban area of ​​Stuttgart, with a share of 16 percent, disregard for the right of way and errors when turning, turning and reversing remain the main causes of accidents. This is followed by accidents under the influence of alcohol, mistakes made when using the lane and when changing lanes.

“The Stuttgart police will continue to monitor traffic safety with high priority,” said police chief Markus Eisenbraun. It would only be possible to further reduce the number of accidents, some of them serious, if everyone obeyed the traffic rules.

“Especially against the background of the new forms of mobility, this is essential for safe use of the common traffic area,” emphasizes Eisenbraun.

There were 255 (+44) alcohol-related accidents, which corresponds to an increase of over 20 percent. The number of accidents in which drug influence was determined rose slightly from 41 to 44.

Increase in accidents under the influence of alcohol and drugs further underlines the need for intensive control measures

The 255 accidents under the influence of alcohol were offset by 1,813 drunk driving cases identified by the police without an accident. In addition to the 44 accidents under the influence of drugs, there were 727 trips that had no consequences. Volker Stier, head of the police department: “For many years now, the Stuttgart police have placed a particular focus on checking for alcohol and drugs on the road, both in daily patrols and in targeted control campaigns. The renewed increase in the number of accidents under the influence of alcohol and drugs shows that this is still necessary.”

Number of hit-and-run accidents increased

In the case of unauthorized departure from the scene of an accident, colloquially referred to as hit-and-run, the number of 4,914 cases increased significantly compared to the previous year’s 4,574. In around 23 percent of all registered accidents, at least one of the participants left the scene of the accident without worrying about the consequences. Despite the investigative work, which was very time-consuming in some cases, 49 percent of these accidents involving personal injury and 33 percent of these accidents involving property damage were cleared up. Michael Saur, head of the traffic police, warns: “Even if removing oneself from the scene of an accident is apparently seen as trivial by many, it is a criminal offense that we are consistently prosecuting. The fact that we are doing this with all consistency is shown by the increased clear-up rate.”

The number of accidents involving bicycles and pedelecs is increasing

The rapid rise in the cost of living, and in particular the high fuel prices, are putting the focus on the bicycle as an environmentally friendly means of locomotion. There was a slight increase from 395 to 412 in road accidents involving cyclists. The number of traffic accidents involving pedelecs increased somewhat more significantly by 24 to 208 accidents. This is also the highest value in the last five years. Among cyclists, 55 percent and among pedelec riders 52 percent of the accidents were caused by them themselves.

The main causes of accidents among cyclists and pedelec riders, in addition to failure to give way, are inappropriate speed. The most common causes are the influence of alcohol and drugs and errors in road use. In addition to errors when turning, technical defects are also mentioned as other causes. Saur: “The traffic police, especially the officers of the bicycle squadron, continued to check violations by cyclists in a targeted manner in 2022. But violations to the detriment of cyclists, such as keeping a safe distance to the side when overtaking, were also important issues – both in the context of daily road traffic monitoring and in priority campaigns.”

Accidents involving two-wheelers, including all motorized two-wheelers, often have serious consequences. This is shown by the fact that around 60 percent of all serious injuries were caused by two-wheelers, and one of these accidents involving a pedelec rider even ended fatally. “With regard to the helmet wearing rate, we have found that the willingness to wear a bicycle helmet on a voluntary basis has improved slightly compared to the previous year,” says Saur. He adds: “The carrying rate is 54 percent for cyclists who have had an accident and 55 percent for pedelec riders who have had an accident. Police continue to advise wearing a helmet which, while not preventing accidents, does reduce the risk of serious head injury.”

Accidents involving small electric vehicles have fallen slightly

Since the entry into force of the Small Electric Vehicles Ordinance in 2019, e-scooters have become part of the cityscape. After the highest increase in accidents was recorded in 2021, the number has now fallen again from 147 to 122.

The number of slightly injured e-scooter riders also decreased slightly from 72 to 65, while the number of seriously injured remained constant at 17. It is also noteworthy that in 75 percent of the cases, the drivers of e-scooters were also responsible for causing the accident. E-scooters are often used as “fun vehicles” in disregard of the relevant known traffic rules.

As in the previous year, the main causes of accidents were driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal use of the roadway or sidewalk, inappropriate speed and errors when entering the moving traffic.

Accidents involving light rail vehicles are increasing Accidents involving light rail vehicles have increased by around 11 percent to 99 accidents.

The number of people seriously injured has doubled from six to twelve. In the case of accidents with minor injuries, the number rose slightly from 43 to 45. Accidents occurred most frequently when either priority was disregarded or vehicles illegally turned or turned across the track area.