This means NRW is well ahead of Bavaria (over 126,000) and Baden-Württemburg (around 75,000) because of its dense network of motorways. Compared with 2015, the number of traffic jams increased by about 20 percent - a new record. Of the 15 most affected autobahn sections in NRW, three of them are in Bonn: the A59 from Bonn to Cologne (11th place), the A565 from Meckenheim to Bonn (12th place) and the A555 from Bonn to Cologne (15th place).

In these three areas of the autobahn, there were around 14,500 traffic jams reported last year (A59: 6,038, A565: 5,119, A555: 3,374). This translates to nearly 8,500 hours of waiting time. November 2 of last year was the day with the most traffic jams. On Wednesday after All Saint’s Day, there were 1,768 traffic jams which reached over 3,500 kilometers and accounted for 945 hours of waiting time. ADAC says one reason for the climbing numbers may be due to an improved technical system for measuring traffic jams.

But how Germans spend their leisure time also plays an important role. More and more people are vacationing within Germany and the car is often their means of transport. This results in heavy congestion during peak vacation periods; September is the worst followed by July and August. Another reason for the increase in congestion is more road construction.

ADAC spokesperson Andreas Hölzel says there was more money for road improvements, meaning roadworks went up by around 15 percent.

(Orig. text: Joshua Bung, dpa)