Maximum speed on highway back to 130 km/h

In April, the AD wrote, based on unspecified sources, that the parties that were still forming wanted to gain insight into the consequences of increasing the maximum speed on the highways to 130 km/h. The decision is made. The so-called Main Line Agreement that the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB have agreed upon states that the maximum speed on the highway will be increased to 130 km/h ‘where possible’.

At the beginning of 2020, the maximum speed on Dutch highways was reduced from 130 km/h to 100 km/h. At least, between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Outside of that, maximum speeds of 100 km/h, 120 km/h or 130 km/h apply, depending on the stretch of road. The reduction in the maximum speed was a measure taken by the Rutte III cabinet at the time to reduce nitrogen emissions. Not much later, research showed The Green Amsterdammer and Fidelity that the effects of the measure would be extremely small and the previous cabinet later indicated that the effects were disappointing. This year, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, RIVM and Wageningen University published a study that also did not paint a rosy picture of the measure.

Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) is not pleased with the announced increase in the maximum speed, ANP writes. VVN fears for road safety, partly because the risk of serious injuries increases at higher speeds. It also fears dangerous situations caused by speed differences. “The minimum speed on Dutch highways is 60 kilometers per hour, the maximum speed in that case is more than twice as fast.”