Decreased traffic congestion by 3,000 instances compared to the previous summer
In the summer holiday weeks of 2025, from June 30 to September 14, a total of 116,020 traffic jams were recorded on German highways, according to ADAC's report.
The first weekend in August of 2025 saw the most traffic jams, with a total of 4,201 jams. This was followed by a significant decrease in traffic congestion compared to the previous year, representing a nearly three percent reduction.
The summer weather in 2025 attracted many weekend getaways, contributing to traffic congestion. However, the decrease in traffic jams was substantial enough to be considered a trend. The total length of traffic jams during the first weekend in August of 2025 was 9,498 kilometers, but the total length of traffic jams in the summer holiday weeks of 2025 showed a decrease compared to the previous year, contrary to the duration of jams.
The decrease in traffic jams was due to several factors. The increase in the duration of traffic jams during the summer holidays 2025, despite fewer overall traffic jams, was caused by the temporal spreading of travel days with more weekday departures, a mostly construction-free road network, and ongoing strong travel demand on the last August weekends with preference for the off-season. Additionally, factors like the reduced attractiveness of the Adriatic and inflation dampened travel interest, concentrating traffic in fewer but longer jams.
The school-free period ended in some federal states during the summer holiday weeks of 2025, possibly increasing traffic. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg started their holidays during this period, potentially causing an increase in traffic.
Despite these factors, the total number of traffic jams in 2025 was 116,020, as reported by ADAC. The total length of traffic jams in the summer holiday weeks of 2025 was 203,830 kilometers, showing a slight decrease from the previous year.
The trend of decreasing traffic congestion, as seen in 2025, was also observed in the previous year. However, the duration of traffic jams during the summer holiday weeks of 2025 increased by 7.6 percent compared to the previous year.
In conclusion, while the number of traffic jams decreased during the summer holiday weeks of 2025, the duration of these jams increased, leading to longer delays for road users. ADAC's analysis shows a decrease in traffic congestion compared to the previous year, but the trend of decreasing traffic jams was not consistent for the duration of jams during the summer holiday weeks of 2025.
