The number of accidents between cyclists has increased dramatically in recent years. This is the conclusion reached by Allianz accident researchers, who analyzed the accident data of the Federal Statistical Office in a long-term comparison. This refers to collisions in which no car driver was involved and which took place approximately on the bike path. While in 2011 3837 accidents were counted among cyclists, by 2018 there were 5648 already. This is an increase of 47 percent.
The analysis of the accident figures shows that it is obviously getting tighter and more dangerous on bike paths in Germany. "One reason for this is likely to be that the existing cycle path network is no longer able to cope with the changes in cycle traffic," says accident researcher Jörg Kubitzki from the Allianz Center for Technology. Because on Germany's bike paths is always going on. This is indicated, for example, by the permanent counting points for cycling in different cities.
Wheels, e-bikes, e-scooters: It's getting tight on the trails
For example, the two bicycle barometers in Stuttgart together recorded an increase from 953,240 to 1,306,607 from 2014 to 2018. That's an increase of almost 40 percent. The number of bicycles in German households has also increased, according to the two-wheel industry association from 70 million wheels in 2011 to 73.5 million in 2017. In addition, more and more different players are on bike paths, in addition to normal bicycles and e-bikes since 2019 also e-scooter.
Regardless of the number of accidents involving cyclists alone, the total number of accidents caused by cyclists has risen by ten per cent over the last few years - from a good 19,100 from 2011 to 2018 to almost 21,100. At nearly two-thirds of all wheel accidents, the blame lies with the cyclists, according to the police. In 2018, over 96,000 people in Germany were injured on bicycles. The most common cause of accidents was driving on the wrong side of the road, accounting for over one fifth.
