Over 11 million German citizens: "A little chaos is perfectly acceptable"„

When traffic grinds to a halt and weekend and holiday traffic comes to a standstill, millions of German drivers experience a kind of "traffic jam fever": some react nervously (32 percent of German citizens) or aggressively (18 percent), some suddenly feel uneasy (16 percent), while others actually look forward to the traffic jam. A new representative survey conducted by the BAT Leisure Research Institute among 2,483 people aged 18 and over in West and East Germany reveals that this (un)secret "pleasure in traffic jams" is no myth – it really exists. Already, one in five Germans (19 percent) looks forward to a traffic jam on weekend and holiday trips with genuine enjoyment. "A little chaos is perfectly acceptable," say over 11 million German citizens.

Most car kilometers are now driven on weekends and during holidays. This trend is continuing to rise. All traffic forecasts since the 1960s have underestimated the development of leisure mobility. Weekend and holiday traffic jams have become an integral part of the motorized leisure experience for a growing number of drivers. "When the vehicle becomes a stationary object during leisure time, drivers are torn," says Prof. Dr. Horst W. Opaschowski, head of the BAT Institute. "Some are seething with anger, others with excitement." The drive to the countryside divides German drivers into two camps: Most genuinely suffer from the disruption to their leisure activities. However, quite a few enjoy it, satisfying their thirst for adventure to the point of almost masochistic reactions: "When I come back exhausted and worn out, that's when I really feel good.".

Weekend traffic jams also reflect gender conflicts. While almost one in five female drivers experiences "claustrophobia and panic attacks" and complains of "headaches, shortness of breath, and sweating," male drivers react relatively calmly to the "little bit of chaos.".

Striking differences can be observed between East and West German drivers. For East Germans, driving has a significantly higher experiential value. A quarter of all East German drivers (27 – West 16) even find positive aspects in traffic jams. The excitement surrounding traffic jams is twice as high among drivers from Brandenburg (30) as among those from North Rhine-Westphalia (15), and three times as high among residents of Saxony-Anhalt (34) as among Bavarians (11). And one in eight East Germans (13 – West 9) is almost glad to experience the traffic jam: "Where there's a lot going on, you experience a lot." Unlike during rush hour, time pressure obviously plays a less significant role in leisure driving, while the experiential value is all the more important.

Technical data of the survey

Number and representativeness of respondents: 2,483 people aged 18 and over in West and East Germany

Survey period: March 19 to April 3, 1992