After the past few years were clearly characterized by the coronavirus pandemic and the associated measures, we saw a slow return to normality in 2022.
We are also noticing this on the district's roads: traffic seems to have returned to normal and is taking place with the intensity of the pre-corona period.
This is also reflected in the traffic accident statistics of the Unna district police authority (KPB) for 2022. Although the number of traffic accidents was still 533 cases lower than in 2019 at 8083 accidents, there was an increase of 858 cases since the previous year.
Unfortunately, the number of road accidents with injuries also increased significantly by 205 cases, meaning that the 2019 level was reached and exceeded again. Tragically, four people died on the roads of KPB Unna again last year. Fortunately, this is fewer than in 2021, but this can be no consolation - because every road death is one too many.
A look at the number of accidents involving bicycles and pedelecs is cause for concern. While there has been a steady increase in the number of road users with these vehicles in recent years, this has unfortunately also been reflected in the number of road accidents. However, it should also be noted that more than half of those involved in accidents were also the cause of the accidents.
In this regard, it is important to take action not only through consistent traffic monitoring, but also in the area of prevention in order to raise awareness among road users in the sector.
It remains clear that the responsibility for safe participation in road traffic lies with the individual. Road accidents can be avoided through careful and considerate behavior. And everyone can play a part in making road traffic safer.
The Unna district police authority will make its contribution in the area of traffic monitoring and prevention to ensure that participation in road traffic in the district is as safe as possible.
Due to various legal bases (*1), statistics are kept on accidents in which people were killed or injured or property damage was caused as a result of driving on public roads and squares. This does not include traffic accidents involving only pedestrians (including skaters), accidents that were not reported to the police and accidents that did not take place on public roads. The results of the official road traffic accident statistics form an essential basis for the findings on accidents and their development. Specifically, the statistics provide data on the number of accidents, those involved, casualties, the causes of accidents and the severity of the consequences of accidents. This makes it possible to draw up a picture of the accident situation and thus to assess the local accident situation. The following is an explanation of terms frequently used in this context:
*1: "Act on Road Traffic Accident Statistics" of June 15, 1990, "First Act to Amend the Road Traffic Accident Statistics Act" of November 23, 1994, "Ordinance on the More Detailed Definition of Serious Accidents with Material Damage within the Meaning of the Road Traffic Accident Statistics Act" of December 21, 1994
The UHZ describes the risk of being involved in a traffic accident and is calculated as the product of the number of accidents and the number 100,000 divided by the number of inhabitants.
The causes of accidents are recorded by the police officers recording the accident according to their assessment. A distinction is made between general causes that can be attributed to external conditions (e.g. slippery roads, fog) and personal misconduct (e.g. failure to give way, inappropriate speed). In unfavorable external conditions, however, high demands are placed on the behavior of road users, so that a correlation of both factors is very often found in the causation of traffic accidents. Up to eight causes of accidents can be specified per accident, including two general causes and three personal causes.
Injured persons include persons (including passengers) who were injured or killed in a traffic accident. A further distinction is made between:
- Fatalities - persons who die within 30 days as a result of the accident
- Seriously injured persons - persons who were immediately admitted to hospital for inpatient treatment and remain there for more than 24 hours
- Slightly injured persons - all other injured persons
The VHZ describes the risk of being killed or injured in a traffic accident. For this purpose, the number of casualties is multiplied by 100,000 and then divided by the number of inhabitants.
The annual maps are used to display accident blackspots. A distinction is made between:
- 1-year map (1 JK) = three traffic accidents with the same cause of accident (turning, overtaking,...) in one year lead to the accident location being depicted as an accident blackspot
- 3-year map "Cyclists/walkers" (3 JK RF) = Five traffic accidents at one location in three years, whereby different causes may be present
- 3-year map "Serious personal injury" (3 JK SP) = Five traffic accidents with serious personal injury (cat. 1 and 2) at one location in three years, whereby different causes may be present