Now that only ‘necessary shops’ are allowed to keep their doors open, the number of vans driving through our streets is increasing sharply. EenVandaag writes that Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) has already received a record number of reports of nuisance caused by delivery vans this year.
VVN has already received more than 1,350 reports of nuisance caused by vans this year. A record number. According to Ruud Wassenaar, chairman of the Association for Parcel Distribution, the fact that we order our stuff online en masse certainly has an influence on the number of reports. “The courier services are, especially now, under enormous pressure. This incites dangerous driving behavior. Especially in the residential areas where children play, we really should not want that,” said Wassenaar.
That dangerous driving behavior has its consequences. According to Wassenaar, vans are regularly involved in accidents. He mainly sees minor damage. “They are often at the back and on the right side, where the blind spot is. You can hardly see around the car.” According to the chairman, postal companies should do something about the workload of the deliverers. “Drivers often have to deliver thirty packages in an hour. That is two minutes per stop: practically unattainable. You can keep that up for a while, but not ten hours a day. In any case, this mechanism does not improve road safety.”
Postal companies PostNL and DHL contradict this. “Most DHL deliverers are on a permanent basis and are paid on an hourly basis and not per parcel. There is no reason to demand unreasonable performance that encourages hasty handling,” a DHL spokesperson told EenVandaag. .