Police share political concerns about motorists ignoring red crosses above the highway, spokesman Wendy Gehrmann told Techzle in response to the idea of CDA MP Madeleine van Toorenburg to use nail mats. According to the police, the emphasis in tackling this problem should be mainly on raising awareness of the serious consequences that ignoring a red cross can entail.
Yesterday MP Van Toorenburg caused a sensation with her plea for the use of nail mats against motorists who ignore red crosses above the motorway. The police want opposite Techzle do not respond substantively to this statement, but according to Gehrmann the police share the political concerns that exist with regard to this problem. “We share the concerns. It is very dangerous, we see that drivers do not always adhere to the red crosses,” said the spokesman. “We are taking action against this together with Rijkswaterstaat, they can also issue fines. Ignoring red crosses creates dangerous situations, so motorists must be more aware of this.”
In order to achieve that goal, the police started the ‘#nietvoorniX’ campaign at the end of 2019 in collaboration with Rijkswaterstaat and the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management. With the campaign, the authorities want to emphasize the dangers that ignoring a red cross can entail. Instead of focusing on new enforcement methods as reactive measures, the police therefore want to place the emphasis on prevention. “It often only concerns a few minutes of time savings, it is absolutely not the intention that this will lead to life-threatening situations”, concludes Gehrmann.