In 2025 traffic jams on Germany’s autobahns grew even though the number of registered jams fell. The ADAC reported a drop from 516 000 jams in 2024 to about 496 000 in 2025. However, jam hours rose by roughly seven percent to 478 000, up from 448 000 the year before, and the total length of jams reached 866 000 km, only slightly above the 859 000 km recorded in 2024.
The bulk of the jam hours is found in the most densely populated states. North‑West Germany produced 35 % of all jam hours, followed by Bavaria at 13 % and Baden‑Württemberg at 10 %. The biggest proportional increases were seen in Hamburg and Schleswig‑Holstein, each reporting about 30 % more jam hours than in 2024, while Rhineland‑Palatinate added 19 %.
Monthly figures emphasize the seasonal swing. January saw a relatively quiet 25 500 jam hours, but by July the figure had doubled to just under 50 000 hours, making July the most jam‑heavy month. October followed closely with nearly 49 000 jam hours. The pattern for jam kilometres mirrored this trend: January recorded 65 000 km of jams due to a winter surge. From April through November, the figure remained consistently above 75 000 km, peaking in July with 87 000 km and in October with 85 000 km.
Weekly, the familiar mid‑week peak continued: Wednesday and Thursday recorded the most jam hours in 2025, while Mondays and Fridays were noticeably lighter. Weekends consistently showed the lowest traffic delays.
Specific days highlighted severe congestion due to winter weather or major holidays. On 9 January, a winter break produced a total jam length of 6 300 km. On 28 May, the day before Ascension, jams totaled 5 700 km, and on 2 October, the day before German Unity Day, 4 900 km of traffic were stalled.
Looking ahead, the ADAC foresees a moderate increase in traffic volume for 2026, which is likely to add to the congestion. Large‑scale infrastructure work-essential for modernising hundreds of aging autobahn bridges-will also generate additional traffic disruptions, but the agency describes the measures as “unavoidable to make the network future‑proof”.
