accident in total, including 8,426 with injury to persons and 2,186 accidents with severe damage to property. Several motorways (Autobahnen), and federal highways connect Hamburg with other regions or cities. An important motorway for the north-south connection in Europe is the A 7 — crossing the Elbe river with a tunnel — from the cities of Kiel and Flensburg in the North to Hanover in the south. The Bundesautobahn 1 connect Lübeck to Bremen, Münster, and Dortmund. The Bundesstraße 5 runs from the Danish border in the North to Frankfurt (Oder) in the East of Germany. In 2006, there were motorways and federal roads. In November 2005, according to a census of the Federal Office for freight traffic (Bundesamt für Güterverkehr), in Hamburg were 926 commercial road haulage companies registered, with 19,985 vehicles (lorries, semitrailer tractors, truck trailers, semitrailers), and a cargo capacity of , and 15,623 employees. List of roads Waterways The port of Hamburg is situated in a distance of 110 kilometres from the mouth of the Elbe river, off the North Sea. In 2007, the port was the second-largest in Europe and ninth-largest worldwide. 9.8 million containers were handled in Hamburg in 2007, a ten percent increase on 2006. In 2008, inland water transport had a quantity of freight of (1000 t), and maritime shipping a quantity of (1000 t). Both increased compared to 2007. The importance and responsibility of the port and its trade for the city is shown through the fact, that Hamburg is described itself as a Welthafenstadt (world port city) in the preamble of the constitution of Hamburg. Dieter Läpple described the important connection between the port and the trade city to enter it into the preamble of the constitution as follows: The preamble of the constitution of Hamburg points out the close relationship between port and city with regard to their development: „As an international port the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has a special task, allocated by its history and location, toperform for the German people. In the spirit of peace it wants to be an intermediary between all continents and peoples of the world." Important waterways were also – not in Hamburg proper – the canals Elbe Lateral Canal and Kiel Canal. See also Economy of Hamburg History of Hamburg Tourism in Hamburg Transport in Germany Notes General External links Hamburg website