Number of traffic accidents

In 2023, a total of 8,007 traffic accidents were registered in Oberhausen. This is an increase of 715 accidents compared to the previous year (2022: 7,292). 
The fact that the figures are constantly rising is certainly also due to the growing number of vehicle registrations. While there were 124,341 registered motor vehicles in Oberhausen in 2018, for example, the figure for 2023 is 131,235 vehicles. That is still an increase of 6,894 vehicles in five years. In 2023 alone, 913 new motor vehicles were registered in Oberhausen compared to the previous year. Of these, 245 were passenger cars, 400 were trucks and 160 were motorcycles.
The accident frequency rate (number of traffic accidents per 100,000 inhabitants) was 3,798 in 2023 and thus changed by 305 compared to the previous year; this represents an increase of eight percent.

Road traffic accidents

The number of accidents fell by eleven in 2023 to a total of 672 (2022: 683). This is a percentage change of minus two percent. In 2019, for example, there were still 772 accidents.
The number of people with minor road traffic injuries is nine higher than in the previous year: in 2023, there were 613 people with minor injuries, compared to 604 in the previous year. That is an increase of one percent.
The number of people seriously injured in Oberhausen following a traffic accident has fortunately fallen (2022: 76; 2023: 56). 
In 2023, a total of three people died after a traffic accident. In 2022, three people also lost their lives.
 

Accidents with serious material damage

In the statistics, the number of road accidents with minor material damage rose to 7,210 in 2023. In 2022, we recorded a total of 6,526 of these minor accidents. This represents an increase of 684 or nine percent.

Children injured

A positive development that needs to be further developed is the falling number of road accidents involving children. In 2023, this figure was 52, a decrease of 13 accidents compared to the previous year (2022: 65). This is the second-lowest figure in the past ten years. One child was injured on the way to school in 2023 (2022: 0).

Bicycle accidents involving children

In 2023, one fewer bicycle accident involving children was recorded than in the previous year (2023: 11; 2022: 12). That is nine percent less.

Adolescents injured

All 15 to 17-year-olds are included in the group of adolescents. The number of young people involved in accidents fell by 14 cases in 2023. While a total of 45 young people were injured in 2022, the number fell to 31 one year later in 2023.
A total of eight of those injured were passive road users (2022: 20). As with the number of injured children, the number of young people who were injured in a bicycle accident fell (2022: 9; 2023: 5). 
In 2023, no young people were injured while riding a pedelec (2022: 2). A total of five young people were injured as pedestrians in road traffic (2022: 7). The number of young people injured as motorized two-wheeler riders rose for the second time in a row (2022: 8; 2023: 11).

Young adults injured

All persons aged 18 to 24 are classified as young adults. In 2023, 82 young adults were injured. In 2022, this figure was 93,
that is eleven fewer accidents or a decrease of 13 percent. A total of ten young adults were injured as pedestrians on Oberhausen's roads (2022: 7), an increase of 30%.
Eleven young adults were injured while riding a motorized two-wheeler. This roughly corresponds to the level of the previous year (2022: 10).
Of the young adults injured, three were injured as cyclists (2022: 10) and four as pedelec riders (2022: 5).
A total of 15 young adults were injured as passive road users in 2023 (2022: 20). 
In 13 cases, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was registered as a contributory cause of an accident (2022: 16). 
In 14 cases, young adults caused an accident due to excessive speed. A year earlier, this figure was 28 in total.

Senior citizens injured

The number of senior citizens injured in road traffic amounted to 97 in 2023, six fewer than in the previous year (2022: 103). 
Of these, a total of 14 were injured while riding a bicycle (2022: 17). That is three fewer than in the previous year. Nine injuries were registered as pedelec riders. That is six fewer accidents than in the previous year (2022: 15). Accidents involving a pedelec have been recorded since 2018. 
A total of 22 pedestrians in this age group were involved in accidents in 2023 - a similar figure to the previous year (2022: 23). A total of 15 senior citizens were passively involved in an accident. In 2022, there were three more (18).

Injured motorized two-wheelers

In 2023, there were 98 road accidents involving motorized two-wheelers, 21 more than in the previous year (2022: 77). 
The number of motorized two-wheeler riders involved in accidents was 68, an increase of one injured person compared to the previous year (2022: 67).

Injured cyclists

After the number of cyclists (bicycles and pedelecs) involved in accidents increased in 2022, the number fell again in 2023. 
The total number of cyclists involved in accidents in 2023 was 138, 29 fewer than in the previous year (2022: 167). This represents a decrease of 21 percent.

Scooter accidents

In the course of the year, there were repeated cases of e-scooter users being involved in accidents. 
In 2023, 40 such cases were registered (2022: 50). A total of 25 e-scooter riders were involved in such accidents (2022: 28). Of these, 24 were slightly injured (2022: 27) and one person was seriously injured (2022: 1). Five of the accidents were caused by the consumption of alcohol (2022: 7).
In 20 cases, e-scooter riders were identified as the cause of the accident (2022: 31). In 13 cases, another vehicle was involved in the accident (2022: 16), in six cases no other road user was involved (2022: 12). No pedestrians were injured in 2023 (2022: 2). In one case, a cyclist was involved in an accident (2022: 1).
The age range of e-scooter users in Oberhausen is broad.
In five cases, adolescents (age group 18 to 24) used an e-scooter and were involved in an accident (2022: 8). In 18 cases, the e-scooters were used by adults (25 to 64) in an accident (2022: 19). In 2023, two senior citizens were also involved in accidents (2022: 0). 
 

Casualty hit-and-run accidents

In cases where the drivers involved simply leave the scene of the accident without taking care of the people injured in the accident, the investigators from the Oberhausen traffic commissioner's office give special priority to investigating these cases. 
In 2023, there were 69 accidents in which people were injured and the drivers involved simply drove on.
The number has increased by two cases compared to the previous year. In 2022, it was 67.
The clearance rate for hit-and-run accidents with personal injury was 62.3% in 2023. It has fallen slightly by 1.86 percentage points. (2022: 64.2 percent). This means that more than one in two of these hit-and-runs in Oberhausen are still solved. 
 

Alcohol and drugs at the wheel

At 125 cases, the number of road accidents involving alcohol and drugs in Oberhausen is at a higher level than in the same period last year (2022: 105). It is also the highest figure in the past ten years. In 2023, 92 drivers were involved in a road accident while under the influence of alcohol (2022: 75).
In the area of drugs and BTM, a total of 33 people tested positive for drugs after a road accident in 2023. In 2022, the figure was 30 drivers.