Trial against 19-year-old: Accident in Hamburg's Hafencity shocked!

Trial against 19-year-old: Accident in Hamburg's Hafencity shocked!

A serious accident in Hamburg's Hafencity, in which a 19-year-old novice driver hit a pedestrian and his dog, has shocked many people over the last year and a half. The driver, who had only come of age two days before the incident, accelerated his high-engined Audi to an alarming 112 km/h after switching the gearshift to “Sport”. This breakneck ride ended tragically when the 41-year-old pedestrian trying to cross the street lost a leg and his dog died. The young driver is now standing before the Harburg district court, where his trial recently began. The pedestrian has been in the hospital for months and is slowly fighting his way back to life - he can now work as a controller again, but reports significant changes in his everyday life. The trial will continue next week, as NDR reports.

Surprisingly, this is not an isolated case. According to a study by ADAC Accident Research, 18 to 24 year olds have more accidents in road traffic than any other age group. These young drivers are twice as likely to have accidents as older road users. The main causes of accidents are often drunk driving, youthful arrogance and a lack of experience behind the wheel. This age group is particularly at risk, and the numbers can be seen in the 18,000 data sets collected by ADAC Luftrettung between 2005 and 2020. What is particularly alarming is that 29% of accidents involving novice drivers occur in solo accidents, while overtaking errors are more common in this group. There is a clear difference in driving behavior compared to older drivers, who are often better able to realistically assess their driving skills.

The risks for young drivers

The traffic watchdog highlights that young adults aged 18 to 24 are twice as likely to have an accident compared to the general population. In 2020, over 50,000 young people in Germany were injured in traffic accidents, including 326 fatal injuries. This highlights the enormous risk that young drivers face, especially when they have just received their license. It's no wonder that many of the dangerous situations these drivers find themselves in are due to improper speeding. This aspect was the main cause in 16% of accidents, followed by distance errors and right-of-way errors.

What is particularly worrying is that in 2019, more than half of all traffic fatalities in this age group were male, which suggests that young men in particular are in the risk group. The influence of gender is also evident in vehicle choice: men often drive more powerful cars, while women tend to choose vehicles with less horsepower. This could represent another factor in the accident statistics. The ADAC data and the traffic police make a clear appeal to young drivers to be more aware of their risks on the road and to take responsibility.

Finally, we can only hope that affected drivers and pedestrians like the 41-year-old from Hamburg find a way to live with the consequences of their accidents. At the same time, it is important that young people continue to be informed and sensitized in order to reduce the risk for all road users. The responsibility lies not only with the legislation, but also with each individual when driving and in everyday traffic.