Preliminary data released Friday by the Statistical Federal Office (Destatis) indicates a rise in traffic incidents across Germany during May 2025. A total of 37,400 individuals sustained injuries in road traffic accidents, representing a 4% increase, or 1,600 more injuries, compared to May of the previous year. Tragically, the number of fatalities also increased, with 255 people losing their lives in road traffic accidents, a rise of 14 from the same period last year.
The overall number of accidents has also seen an uptick. Incidents involving personal injury rose by 1,500 to 30,300, a 5% increase, while accidents resulting solely in property damage climbed by 5,400 to 195,400, marking a 3% rise.
Looking at the period from January to May 2025, law enforcement agencies recorded approximately one million road traffic incidents. This figure is roughly equivalent to the number of incidents documented during the same five-month period in the prior year. Within this total, 110,400 accidents involved personal injury (+1% or +1,500), resulting in 1,018 fatalities. The number of traffic fatalities for this initial five-month period remains broadly consistent with the preceding year. The number of individuals injured in road traffic accidents during the first five months of 2025 increased by 1,000, representing a 1% rise, according to Destatis.
