Greeting from District Administrator Dr. Andreas Coenen and Chief Police Director Dietmar Maus
Dear citizens,
This report takes a retrospective look at the accident situation in the district of Viersen for the year 2023. The current accident figures are compared with the data from the last five years to provide a comprehensive analysis of developments.
In 2023, the Viersen police recorded a total of 9,087 traffic accidents, which is 0.9% fewer than in the previous year. As in previous years, the main causes of these accidents were errors in failing to observe the right of way/priority and when turning or U-turning. Furthermore, the number of road accidents involving personal injury fell by 6.1 percent to 1,001 cases. That is encouraging. Unfortunately, however, significantly more people died on the roads in the district of Viersen in 2023 than in the previous year. The number of fatalities rose from six to 13 people.
The number of cyclists and pedelec riders involved in accidents fell significantly. A total of 397 people were injured here - down from 445 in the previous year. This is a very pleasing development.
A closer look at the accident figures in the individual age groups and their comparison with the NRW state average revealed that children, teenagers, young adults and senior citizens continue to be the most affected groups. Here, the accident frequency rate is above the NRW state average. These age groups in particular often use bicycles or pedelecs as their primary means of transportation. In view of these findings, the Viersen police are also stepping up their efforts in 2024 to implement preventative measures and improve road safety for these groups in particular.
The declared aim of the so-called "Vision Zero", the basis for the new specialist traffic strategy of the NRW police, is to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries in road accidents to zero in the long term.
Under #LEBEN, the safety of vulnerable road users is becoming an even greater focus than before. This includes punishing misconduct towards this group as well as keeping an eye on the misconduct of this group itself, because, for example, cyclists disregarding a red light can trigger a collision with serious consequences.
In 2024, the Viersen district police are aiming to reduce the number of traffic accidents by means of targeted traffic checks and intensive preventative measures. However, the individual behavior of all road users is also of crucial importance here. Traffic accidents do not happen by chance, but are caused by certain types of misconduct. As a result, we appeal to all road users to support us in our goal through their appropriate behavior.
Best regards
Dr. Andreas Coenen Dietmar Maus
District Administrator of the Viersen district Chief Police Director