If you already have trouble keeping to the 50 km/h limit in the city, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht will make it even more difficult for you. The four major cities want to move to a maximum speed of just 30 km/h as soon as possible.
Almost half of the roads in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht already have a limit of 30 km/h. But now that it is getting busier in the cities, that is no longer enough. The Amsterdam alderman Egbert de Vries tells the AD that “80 percent of the number of traffic victims” falls on 50 km/h roads. “In the past we gave the car too much space in the city, now quality of life is paramount. If we want to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, we have to take action.”
Speed ​​bumps are still mandatory on 30 km/h roads
The four cities are asking the cabinet to adjust the traffic rules as soon as possible. Speed ​​bumps are currently still mandatory on 30 km/h roads, but if all roads in the major cities are given this limit, that will be an unworkable situation. “Emergency services cannot be on site fast enough”, De Vries gives as an example. If cities now build 30 km/h roads without barriers, they are legally liable in the event of accidents.
Amsterdam and Utrecht have already decided to go to 30 km/h
Amsterdam has already announced that from 2023 most roads in the city will go to 30 km/h. The decision has already been made in Utrecht. 30 km/h will become the norm there. If half of all 50 km/h roads go to 30 km/h, the number of deaths and injuries in built-up areas will decrease by 20 to 30 percent, SWOV has calculated.