Lützel on the B62: What Is Behind the Rise in Motorcycle Accidents

• In 2022, the police recorded one accident on this section; by the end of September 2026 there had already been ten.
• On the comparison routes B508 and L729, there were most recently zero to four and at most one accident per year respectively.
• The accident commission is reviewing the section again; according to the district, a weekend closure for motorcycles is not currently planned.

Among motorcyclists in the Siegerland region, the Lützel is a well-known name. That is what many call the section of the B62 that connects Netphen-Afholderbach with Hilchenbach-Lützel. In terms of riding, it is not considered the most difficult road in the area, but it has been standing out more and more in the accident statistics since 2024. Current police figures and a comparison with two other roads show how the situation has developed. A riding instructor from the region explains what could be behind it. At the same time, a ban on motorcycles is being discussed on social media, and the district’s accident commission is taking another look at the section. Meanwhile, the season is coming to an end: for most riders with seasonal number plates, it ends at the end of October.

How have accident figures on the Lützel developed?

Since 2024, the police have recorded significantly more accidents on the section than in previous years. In 2022 there was one, in 2023 there were two, and in 2026 there have already been ten, with the year not yet over.

The police analysed the stretch from the edge of Afholderbach to the Kronprinzeneiche, where the B508 branches off. For the section from the Kronprinzeneiche to Lützel, they see no anomalies over the years. Between the low figures for 2022 and 2023 and the current year lie 2024 with seven and 2025 with nine accidents. The figure for 2026 only covers the months up to and including September, i.e. three months fewer than the previous years.

One thing is important about the figures: minor accidents where no main cause could be identified are missing from the statistics. So it is not a complete record of all accidents on the section.

Along with the accidents, the number of people injured has also grown. In 2022 and 2023 there were one or two slightly or seriously injured people each year. In 2025 the police counted nine, and eight by the end of September 2026. In 2024 a motorcyclist was killed, and so far one has also died this year.

Which spots on the Lützel are considered accident black spots?

Officially, there are two accident clusters on the section, one above and one below the so-called Applauskurve (“applause bend”). This is the police term for road sections where accidents occur more frequently than average.

The older cluster lies in the Hilchenbach area and runs from the Kronprinzeneiche to just above the Applauskurve. It was first identified in 2006. After that, things were quiet there for a long time, but the police never fully lifted the designation. The area remained under observation, and the local accident commission dealt with it again and again. The second cluster lies in the Netphen area and runs from below the Applauskurve to Afholderbach. It has only been continuously classified as an accident cluster since 2024.

What is known about the causes of the accidents?

For 15 of the accidents analysed, police statistics list “speed” as the main cause. Eight times the entry reads “other driver errors”, which includes, for example, braking incorrectly.

Whether the riders in the first group were travelling faster than permitted cannot be deduced from this classification. Another pattern is clearer: in most cases, nobody other than the injured rider was involved. Over the past two years, this applies to around two thirds of the accidents. Such single-vehicle accidents can have various causes, such as a riding error or a bend or situation that was misjudged.

When crashes happen and who is involved

Most accidents occur between May and September. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays stand out, as do the afternoon and early evening. Among the motorcyclists involved, 25- to 30-year-olds form the largest group with nine riders. Eight riders were between 20 and 25 years old, five between 35 and 40.

Why does the Lützel in particular stand out in the accident statistics?

The course of the road alone cannot explain it. Two other popular motorcycle roads in the region are more demanding to ride and still record significantly fewer accidents. Siegerland riding instructor Till Schilling sees the main reason in the way people ride on the Lützel.

The comparison with the B508 and L729

For comparison, the police also analysed the B508 between Lützel and Hilchenbach and the L729 near Hainchen. For the B508, they report zero to four accidents per year in recent years. Over five years, three people were seriously injured and one slightly injured there, and nobody was killed. On the L729 there was at most one accident per year, and in some years none at all.

Schilling runs the driving school “Fahrerschmiede” with the affiliated “Bikerschmiede” in the Siegerland and rides a motorcycle himself. According to his description, the road surface on the B508 is narrower. As a result, you enter the bends at a sharper angle, and you only see late where a bend ends. He also considers the L729 demanding. There, however, it is clear from the outset that the bends can become dangerous. Most riders therefore do not go into them at full speed. Schilling says that fear rides along, and calls this “the emotional limit”.

Wide road, big audience

On the Lützel, according to Schilling, this inner brake often does not kick in. The road is wide, and the Applauskurve in particular offers a good overview. This gives many riders a feeling of safety. Added to this is the large crowd. According to his observations, many motorcyclists egg each other on there, show off and film themselves. Anyone without enough experience and riding skill quickly gets into trouble. “Many ride faster than their abilities allow,” says Schilling. In his view, it is difficult to really take a motorcycle to the limit of what is physically possible, and the skill to do so is often lacking.

How are the police responding to the meetups on the Lützel?

The police are now on site with checks almost every weekend on at least one day. In good weather, they also carry out checks on weekdays during rush hour.

After a rather quiet start to the season, the situation escalated from July onwards according to the police, and the fatal accident followed in August. Officers have observed that the road is once again becoming more of a focal point in the second half of the season than in previous years. One sign of this is loosely arranged meetups at roadside spots where riders can stop. Sometimes 50 or more motorcyclists gather there.

According to the police, most riders were cooperative during the checks. Anyone suspected of deliberately showing off, for example with exaggerated lean angles, was given a banning order for the area. The police refer to such cases as “Imponierfahren” (showing-off riding). They also follow up on tips from the public, according to their own statements.

Will the Lützel be closed to motorcycles?

A weekend closure for motorcycles is not currently planned in concrete terms, the Siegen-Wittgenstein district says. Whether there will be other restrictions will only be decided by the accident commission.

The body, made up of the road traffic authority, the road construction authority and the police, meets under the chairmanship of the district. Because of the accident figures, it intends to take another look at the section soon and examine further steps in an extraordinary meeting. District spokesperson Jana Göbel does not rule out traffic restrictions. Some measures are already in place, such as signs at individual bends.

The district cannot yet say how long it might take for new measures to be introduced. That depends on the recommendation of the accident commission and on which legal and structural steps would be necessary. A reliable assessment is only expected after the body’s next meeting on the matter.

In any case, the district sees limits to such measures. Göbel points out that improper riding behaviour can only be tackled to a limited extent through traffic rules: “Inappropriate speed, overestimating one’s own abilities or careless riding can only be prevented to a limited extent by traffic measures.” In addition, closing the road to certain groups could cause traffic to shift to other roads. Riding instructor Schilling shares this concern. He considers a closure to be the wrong approach: “That just shifts the problem; they’ll then chase each other through the bends on other stretches of road.”

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