U-turn maneuver on B20: motorcyclist injured in accident in Landau

U-turn maneuver on B20: motorcyclist injured in accident in Landau

In Landau there was a traffic accident on July 18, 2025 on the federal highway between Landau Süd and the Aldi exit. The accident was caused by the high volume of traffic and the slow traffic on the Isar Bridge. A 74-year-old driver of a white BMW was trying to make a U-turn on the busy federal highway when he failed to notice a 61-year-old motorcyclist trying to pass the BMW on the left. As a result, the motorcyclist was hit by the car and fell, leaving his motorcycle on the guardrail. The BMW suffered significant damage to the front, while the motorcyclist had to be taken to hospital with minor injuries. Fortunately, the driver was uninjured.

The fire brigades from Landau and Wolfsdorf-Fichtheim were on duty to regulate traffic. Traffic was able to alternately divert past the accident site, but this led to long traffic jams. Bypass traffic into the urban area of ​​Landau was also severely affected.

The accident statistics at a glance

This situation is not isolated. According to Statista, there were around 2.5 million road traffic accidents in Germany in 2024, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Historically, the number of accidents has increased in recent decades due to increasing traffic. The number of accidents resulting in personal injury remains at a level that we have known for decades. Current statistics show that the most common causes of such accidents are insufficient distance and inadequate speed.

In an effort to increase road safety, the EU transport ministers are pursuing the ambitious goal of “Vision Zero”: no traffic deaths by 2050. This approach is particularly important because the number of traffic deaths in Germany was reduced from 19,193 in 1970 to 2,770 in 2024, as shown by data from Destatis. Nevertheless, the latest surveys show that the decline in traffic fatalities has slowed since the early 2010s.

Causes and measures

The comprehensive statistics dealing with road traffic accidents provide valuable data for research into the causes of accidents. They are the basis for measures in legislation, traffic education and road construction to improve the safety situation in road traffic. The results not only serve to better understand accidents, but also to optimize the traffic infrastructure so that incidents like the one in Landau can possibly be avoided in the future.

In the broad discussion about road safety, in addition to human factors such as inattention and recklessness, the increasing number of e-bike and e-scooter accidents are increasingly coming to the fore. These developments show that despite advances in road safety, there is still much work to be done. The challenges in the traffic landscape are diverse and require a tangible approach to guarantee the safety of all road users.