How is the number of road deaths distributed across different road types?

Answer

For the number of road deaths on different types of roads, we have to rely on BRON. See the question What is the difference between the number of road deaths registered in BRON and the real number of road deaths? In the Road Death Statistics, of the 745 road deaths in 2022, 655 were registered in BRON. This implies that for at least 12% of the crashes in 2022 – the proportion that was registered by Road Death Statistics only – we do not know where the crash occurred. In addition, for 1% of the road deaths registered in BRON we do not know either whether the related fatal crash occurred in or outside the urban area (see Figure 5) and for 2% of the road deaths we do not know which speed limit was valid on the road where the crash occurred (see Figure 6).

Of the road deaths as registered in BRON, 52% occurred outside the urban area (46% of the total number of road deaths). The remaining 47% (41% of all road deaths) occurred in the urban area. The shares are shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 5. Deaths 2022, registered in BRON, in and outside urban areas, as shares of the total number of road deaths. Sources: IenW, (BRON) , Statistics Netherlands (Road Death Statistics), adapted by SWOV.

Figure 6 shows the number of road deaths by speed limit. The largest number of road deaths occurs on 50km/h and 80km/h roads (27% and 19%, respectively, of the real number of road deaths; this is 31% and 22%, respectively, of the road deaths registered in BRON). On 60km/h roads, the number of road deaths is also substantial, that is: 15% of the road deaths (17% of the road deaths in BRON). On 30km/h roads the share is 12% of the total number of road deaths (13% in BRON). Finally, on roads with a speed limit of 100, 120 or 130 km/h, the share amounts to 10% of the number of road deaths (12% in BRON).

In 2022, 53% of the real number of road deaths occurred on road sections and 35% at intersections (see Figure 7; 60% and 40%, respectively, of the road deaths in BRON).

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Figure 6. Deaths in 2022, registered in BRON, by speed limit, as shares of the total number of road deaths. Only the limits accounting for more than two road deaths are shown. Sources: IenW, (BRON), Statistics Netherland (Road Death Statistics), adapted by SWOV.

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Figure 7. Deaths in 2022, registered in BRON, by road section and intersection, as shares of the total number of road deaths. Sources: IenW, (BRON), Statistics Netherlands (Road Death Statistics), adapted by SWOV.

Figure 8 shows the 2022 shares of road deaths by road authority. The largest number of road deaths in the Netherlands occurs on municipal roads (55% of the total number of road deaths, 63% of the number of road deaths registered in BRON), followed by regional roads (18% of the total number and 21% in BRON) and national roads (11% of the total number and 12% registered in BRON). The smallest number of road deaths occurs on roads managed by the remaining road authorities, such as water authorities (4% of the actual number, 4% registered in BRON). These shares not only reflect the degree of hazard on these roads, but also and particularly the number of roads and the amount of traffic on these roads.

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Figure 8. Deaths 2022, registered in BRON, by road authority, as shares of the total number of road deaths. Sources: IenW (BRON), Statistics Netherlands (Road Death Statistics), adapted by SWOV).
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Part of fact sheet

Road deaths in the Netherlands

In 2022, there were 745 road deaths in the Netherlands, 163 more than in 2021. This implies that the number of road deaths reverted to pre-2009 Meer

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