Ten people died in road accidents in the Recklinghausen and Bottrop districts last year - the saddest finding from the 2023 Road Accident Report, which the police published on March 18. However, the report also shows positive developments. There were fewer serious injuries, fewer injured cyclists and pedelec riders, fewer injured riders of motorcycles (with an engine capacity of more than 125 cc) and fewer e-scooter riders involved in accidents.
"It is and remains our goal to reduce the number of people injured and killed in road traffic accidents," says Police Commissioner Friederike Zurhausen. "We all want to live a long life. Even those who endanger the lives of others on the roads."
The Recklinghausen Police Headquarters Traffic Accident Report 2023 provides a detailed overview of the development of the road safety situation in the ten towns in the district of Recklinghausen and in the independent city of Bottrop.
"The protection of pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users is a high priority in our road safety work," says Friederike Zurhausen. The police want to raise awareness of the dangers of road traffic with numerous projects for different age and target groups. These include bicycle training in elementary school, crash course events for future car drivers and pedelec safety training for senior citizens.
The police's road safety work also includes traffic checks. The sanctions for speeding, alcohol and drug violations, unauthorized cell phone use, poor technical condition of vehicles or poor load securing are intended to make people think about the rules. "The primary goal is to protect lives," emphasizes Friederike Zurhausen. The police continue to keep a close eye on speeders and illegal tuning. "We punish violations consistently - up to and including seizing the vehicle and the driver's license," says the police chief.
67 vehicles were seized by the police last year on suspicion of illegal tuning and seven vehicles after illegal racing. 119 road users had to surrender their driving license because they were driving dangerously, recklessly and considerably too fast.
More accidents, but fewer serious injuries: the police in the district of Recklinghausen and the city of Bottrop recorded a total of 23,048 traffic accidents last year, 840 more than in 2022. The number of injuries, on the other hand, has fallen. 365 people sustained serious injuries in road accidents that required inpatient treatment in hospital, 101 fewer than in the previous year. 2,216 road users were slightly injured, 28 more than in 2022. 20,429 accidents resulted in property damage (+903).
Protecting "vulnerable" road users
In 2023, fewer cyclists were involved in accidents again after a sad peak in 2022. The number of cyclists involved in accidents fell to 663 (-126) and the number of pedelec users involved in accidents fell to 273 (-60). "The fact that there were fewer cyclists involved in accidents is pleasing, but is no reason to let up on prevention work in this area," emphasized Police Commissioner Friederike Zurhausen.
The police will also continue to focus more closely on school route safety, as the number of school route accidents remained at the previous year's level at 49 (+1). "Speeding in front of schools and daycare centers remains a problem, and parents' cars parked awkwardly or even illegally in front of school entrances are another. A lot of persuasion is needed here. Children are exposed to particular dangers in road traffic. It is therefore all the more important that they are made aware of the risks at an early age and learn how to behave correctly. They need the support of parents, teachers, the police and the consideration of all road users," says Martin Kirchner, Head of the Traffic Directorate at Recklinghausen Police Headquarters. Prevention work at schools and daycare centers as well as regular traffic checks, especially in front of schools, are therefore also among the police's priority tasks in 2024.
Incident frequency figure below the state value
How safe are the roads in the Recklinghausen district and Bottrop? The "accident frequency rate" (VHZ) provides an indication. This indicates the number of people injured and killed in road accidents per 100,000 inhabitants. In the area of responsibility of the Recklinghausen police headquarters, the VHZ was 351 last year. The VHZ in the state of NRW was 388. This shows that people in the area of responsibility of the Recklinghausen police headquarters are still comparatively safe on the roads.
The safety situation on the roads depends on many factors: excessive speed, distraction, alcohol and drug consumption, carelessness - these and more increase the risk of accidents. It is often due to individual misconduct when an accident occurs, for example when turning and turning off or when right-of-way rules are disregarded. Adverse weather conditions and poor visibility require particularly careful behavior and an anticipatory driving style. "It depends on each individual how safe our roads are," emphasizes Police Commissioner Friederike Zurhausen.
You can find the Traffic Accident Report 2023 under "More information".
