Minister sees clear points for improvement for road safety

Road safety in the Netherlands is not going well. This is evident from new figures from SWOV, which concludes that 2022 was a ‘particularly bad year’ in that area. As many as 8,300 people were seriously injured in traffic last year. Outgoing Minister Mark Harbers (VVD) of I&W says that it motivates him and the ministry ‘to continue working hard on road safety’.

Nice words, but Harbers also wants to make it a bit more concrete. To start with, he believes there is work to be done to make traffic safer for cyclists. After all, that is the largest group of victims. Harbers: “The number of cycling casualties must be reduced, because the number of road deaths among cyclists was no less than 36 percent higher than the average in the three previous years. This can be tackled by making cycle paths safer or by helping the elderly learn how to use their bicycles. safest. Cyclists can also help themselves: electric bicycles may not provide assistance above 25 km/h, and ensure good bicycle lighting on your own bicycle and on that of your children.”

Of course, Harbers does not only place responsibility on cyclists. The rest of the traffic must also be safer and, according to Harbers, not only road adjustments are a possible solution, but there will also have to be some changes in the behavior of road users. “The number of accidents in built-up areas must be reduced. We especially see an increase on 30 and 50 roads. Municipalities can use extra money from the government to ensure that their roads become safer, for example by converting dangerous intersections into roundabouts. Perhaps The most important key in traffic is safe behavior. Many people occasionally look at their phone when driving their car or bicycle. The figures also show that people more often get behind the wheel after drinking too much. Participate in Traffic is a responsibility, it has major consequences for yourself or for the people around you.”