As a positive consequence of the corona pandemic fewer people died in traffic accidents in Germany last year than at any time since records began. According to preliminary figures, there were 2,569 fatalities, six percent fewer than in the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday in Wiesbaden. The main reason was the reduced traffic due to lockdowns as well as home office and home schooling.
As early as 2020, a low was reached with 2719 deaths. According to the information, the decrease from 2021 to 2019, the year before Corona, is 16 percent. At that time there were still 3046 dead. Experts fear that this level will be reached again when the pandemic subsides, since driving has not become safer. In contrast to the previous year, 2021 was dominated by the corona pandemic, which explains the renewed decline in numbers.
In 2021 there were also two percent fewer injuries on the roads. Here the total number fell to around 321,000 people. Overall, the police recorded around 2.3 million accidents, three percent more than in 2020. 2.1 million of them were property damage (plus four percent). In contrast, the number of accidents in which people were injured or killed fell by two percent to around 258,000.