Response to a significant increase in road casualties
Many more people were injured in traffic last year and therefore urgent action is needed. This is stated by the ‘Traffic Safety Coalition’. Among other things, he advocates 30 km/h as the maximum speed in built-up areas.
Road safety in the Netherlands is under pressure. New figures from SWOV show that 2022 was a bad year in this area, with about 20 percent more injuries in traffic. The Road Safety Coalition, consisting of Cyclists’ Union, ANWB, Veilig Verkeer Nederland, the Association of Traffic Victims and various municipalities, considers ‘major investments in traffic enforcement and bicycle safety necessary’ to reduce the number of road casualties. The government is therefore ‘strongly’ called on to intervene.
For example, the coalition is asking the cabinet to encourage 30 km/h as the maximum speed within built-up areas. A proposal that will undoubtedly be welcomed by some in Amsterdam. They also want to encourage the wearing of a bicycle helmet and prohibit the use of e-bikes, fat bikes and other light electric vehicles, so that speed differences on the cycle path are reduced.
However, according to the coalition, what is still lacking is that too many people can misbehave in traffic with impunity. Police capacity should therefore be increased so that traffic enforcement can be deployed effectively, the coalition states. According to the coalition, more innovation in the field of enforcement could help with this. Minister Mark Harbers of I&W also responded to the SWOV figures on Wednesday. According to him, there are several areas for improvement.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl