Five serious traffic accidents in Witten and Hattingen - security on the brink!

Five serious traffic accidents in Witten and Hattingen - security on the brink!

On January 21, 2025, two serious traffic accidents with pedestrians occurred in the region. The first incident took place in Witten around 11:00 a.m. when an 87-year-old woman who was currently crossing Breddestrasse was captured by a driver who comes from Bochum. The senior citizen had to be taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The second accident occurred in the morning at around 8:00 a.m. in Hattingen-Bredenscheid. Here a 57-year-old Sprockhöveler was hit by a 68-year-old Hattingen. She turned left from Elfringhauser Straße to Bredenscheider Straße and collided with the man who crossed the pedestrian path. Interestingly, both participants had previously reported green light. The 57-year-old was also taken to the hospital.

increased number of accidents in 2023

These incidents are in the context of worrying figures on traffic accidents in Germany. In 2023, the German Road Safety Council (DVR) reports, 2,839 people died in traffic accidents, which corresponds to an increase of 1.8 % compared to 2022. In addition, the number of injuries in road traffic rose to 366,557, an increase of 1.5 %. This illustrates the trend that Manfred Wirsch, President of the DVR, addresses. He demands increased attention to the safety of pedestrians, since the numbers of killed and injured pedesters have increased in recent years.

Wirsch emphasizes the need to increase security for pedestrians in the focus of transport policy. The Federal Government is working on a foot traffic strategy that includes a novella of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO). One of the main changes is permission for municipalities to arrange zebra crossing even without proof of a special hazard. This regulation is intended to simplify the allocation of areas for foot and bike traffic and enable faster measures.

conclusions and future measures

The current accident figures and incidents underline the need for effective measures to improve traffic safety. The DVR has developed 10 main demands, which include increased traffic monitoring and more appropriate top speeds. These demands are part of a broader strategy to reduce accidents and to improve pedestrian security.

Overall, these developments show that it is urgently necessary to adapt transport policy to ensure the safety of all road users, but especially pedestrians. Detailed statistics on traffic accidents, such as you create, for example, Destatis offer the necessary basis for effective measures in legislation and infrastructure planning.