In the Netherlands, 659 FTEs are annually deployed for police traffic enforcement. Traffic enforcement is done by camera surveillance and by means of police stops. Surveillance is partly automated by means of fixed or mobile cameras. In case of a police stop, the offender is stopped and held to account for the violation. Offenders may either be warned or fined and always have to identify themselves.
For the purpose of camera surveillance, 640 cameras were used in 2018, to determine speed violations, red light negation or driving over crossed out lanes. In addition, 11 road section control systems were used to determine speed violations. The system locations are to be found on www.om.nl/onderwerpen/verkeer/handhaving-verkeer/snelheid/trajectcontrole/. The road section control systems used to be exclusively located on motorways. But in 2019 and 2020, twenty road section control systems will be installed on high-risk provincial roads in order to increase road safety on these roads. According to figures of the Central Fine Collection Agency CJIB), the fines generated by camera surveillance have amounted to a steady 9 million since 2010. Only in 2014 and 2015, the malfunctioning of a few road section control systems caused a slight and temporary decrease [8] [9].
The number of fines after a police stop has, however, considerably decreased from well over an annual million in 2008-2010 to fewer than 360,000 in 2016. This number slightly increased to 385,000 in 2017 and 404,000 in 2018. There are various reasons for the substantial decrease in 2008-2016. According to the Interdepartmental Policy Research task force [10], the main reasons were the abolition of the fines quota, altered prioritisations within the police organisation and the economic crisis. According to Goldenbeld and Houwing [11], the decrease may also have been caused by less priority for road safety at a local level, and by CLA actions of the police unions in 2015. It is also notable that the number of large-scale alcohol checks almost halved, from over 6,000 in 2013 to slightly fewer than 3,100 in 2016 (see [12]).
In other countries, the number of police stops for traffic violations also seems to decrease. The European Transport Safety Council ETSC, an independent road safety advisory body of the European Commission, of the European Parliament and EU member states, is concerned about this development which results in a significantly lower chance of apprehension for traffic rule violations (other than speed and red light negation) [13].
