Emergency services clear A2: 24,000 liters of cooking oil after a truck accident!

Emergency services clear A2: 24,000 liters of cooking oil after a truck accident!

A serious accident on the A2 motorway blocked the road between Theeßen and Ziesar in the direction of Berlin on Saturday morning. A tanker truck loaded with around 24,000 liters of cooking oil overturned and caused major chaos on the road. The 39-year-old driver suffered a minor injury in the incident after he apparently lost consciousness due to health problems and veered off the road, hit the center barrier and crashed into a pillar. The truck overturned and then blocked two lanes of traffic, while the spilled oil was spread further by passing cars. According to MDR around six kilometers are affected.

The motorway police in Michendorf have urgently asked all drivers to avoid the affected area as far as possible, as diversion routes were inadequately signposted and were heavily overloaded. Work to clean the roadway is ongoing and is expected to last until Thursday. A special cleaning device will be used on Tuesday to remove the oil from the joints. In order to ensure that the road is completely cleaned, the guard rails, joints and shoulders must also be replaced. The costs for these repairs are still unclear.

The traffic situation in Berlin

The incident on the A2 is not only important for drivers in the region, but also for the entire traffic situation at the moment. In Berlin, for example, the police are regularly involved in a large number of traffic accidents, which are documented in daily police reports. According to Landesverkehrswacht Berlin, monthly statistics on road traffic accidents are published and often speak of illegal car racing or resistance to traffic controls. The accident statistics differentiate not only according to the circumstances of the accident, but also according to those involved in the accident, such as children or cyclists.

Interestingly, a report on traffic safety in Berlin shows that despite the increase in the number of cars to over 1.23 million vehicles in 2022, the level of motorization per 1,000 inhabitants has fallen. This could indicate that fewer people are using cars to commute to work or for leisure activities, although the number of traffic criminal cases has remained constant in recent years.

Developments in Europe

At the European level, road safety is an equally pressing issue. Every year, thousands of people lose their lives or are seriously injured in traffic accidents. Europarl reports that between 2010 and 2020 the number of road deaths in Europe was reduced by 36 percent, which represents significant progress in road safety. However, the number of accidents remains worrying, especially since the severity and circumstances of the accidents can vary greatly.

In this context, it is important to also take the young driver share into account. Even though only 12 percent of traffic fatalities in 2018 were between the ages of 18 and 24, it appears that this age group represents a high risk group, especially when combined with unsafe driving practices.

It remains to be hoped that increased education and safe traffic measures can reliably reduce the number of accidents and that drivers in the region continue to drive with a healthy degree of caution and responsibility, even after this latest incident.