- Road damage increases the number of accidents by five times
The number of accidents due to potholes and road damage in Hamburg is significantly increasing. By the end of May this year, 146 such accidents have been recorded in the city, as revealed in a written response to a minor inquiry by the chairman of the CDU faction, Dennis Thering. Compared to the same period last year, this number has increased by more than fivefold. In 2023, from January to May, only 27 accidents were registered where "damage to the road surface was mentioned as a possible cause", as stated in the response. This year, 14 people have been injured in such accidents, two of them severely.
"The number of accidents involving road damage has skyrocketed this year," said Thering to the German Press Agency. A similar trend can be observed in the resulting damage costs. "In the first five months of 2024, these were not only higher than the total for the period from 2019 to 2022, but about 1.3 million euros, 600 percent higher than the previous year."
Thering blamed the red-green traffic policy for the situation, which has been praising itself for the maintenance of Hamburg's roads and their supposedly overall good condition for years. "In our inquiry, the Senate now has to admit that the opposite is true."
Road damage, especially on unsanctioned sections
With a systematic maintenance management for Hamburg's roads, the goal is "to improve and maintain a good road condition in the long term", the Senate writes. In recent years, through the intensification of maintenance measures and various renovation and expansion programs for the main traffic routes, a maintenance backlog has been cleared and a good condition level has been achieved.
744 lane kilometers were renovated from 2020 to 2023. However, damage often occurs on unsanctioned sections. "These occur mainly in already damaged sections, usually in combination with high traffic load and heavy traffic", it was stated.
Moreover, the previous winter with wet cold weather and numerous frost-thaw cycles has led to "an increase in new potholes in damaged areas of the road surface". These pose a particular challenge to the locally responsible road maintenance districts.
CDU demands immediate program against potholes
Noteworthy is "that there is no schedule for many road damages to be repaired", Thering criticized. "And so, most road damages remain a safety risk for many months." The road condition plays a crucial role in traffic safety. "The Senate must now quickly launch an immediate program to remove all potholes, ensuring that they do not reappear with the next winter", he demanded.
The alarming increase in road accidents due to potholes and road damage in Hamburg this year has resulted in 14 people getting injured, with two suffering severely. Consequently, Thering from the CDU has demanded an immediate program to repair all potholes and prevent their recurrence, citing the importance of road condition in traffic safety.
