The number of road casualties in the Netherlands is rising at an alarming rate, according to new figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). In 2022, 737 people were killed in traffic accidents. That is an increase of almost 27 percent compared to 2021, when there were still 582 fatalities. The figures are met with shock, including from Transport Minister Harbers, Veilig Verkeer Nederland and the Association of Traffic Victims.
“Shocked”
Veilig Verkeer Nederland is very shocked by the figures. The organization believes that the risk of injury in traffic has become unacceptably high and calls for intensification of measures by the government: “We can achieve the greatest road safety gains by limiting excessive speeds, preventing alcohol, drugs and laughing gas during participation in traffic and disabling interactive communication via the smartphone while driving
Road safety should be given the highest political priority, according to Veilig Verkeer Nederland. “The chance of being caught in dangerous driving must be increased, so that misconduct in traffic can be observed and punished in many more cases. That is not yet sufficiently the case.”
“Innumerable Suffering”
Chairman Nelly Vollebregt of the Traffic Victims Association is not convinced about this: “Politicians have been calling for years that something needs to be done to make traffic safer, but nothing structural is happening. In fact, it’s only getting worse. That politicians are now calling for something to be done is too late for 737 victims who all had to leave family and friends behind in grief. You can’t imagine how much suffering is hidden behind that”.
‘Painful figures’
The responsible minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure) is also shocked by the figures from Statistics Netherlands. “These are painful and disturbing numbers. It underlines the need to make extra efforts to make traffic safer. The number of casualties must be reduced by making Dutch roads and cycle paths safer. We are doing this, for example, with the Traffic Safety Investment Impulse and the extra 200 million for N-roads in this coalition period”.