A collaboration of 32 organisations in the Netherlands called on Dutch Parliament and the future Government to make road safety a national priority. In recent months the members of the collaboration have worked on a road safety manifesto which today was presented to the political community. In the Manifesto the organisations detail their ambitions and propose to opt for safer traffic and fewer casualties. The Members of Parliament that were present were positive about the request.
The collaboration, led by the Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB, SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, the Dutch Traffic Safety Association (VVN) and the Dutch Association of Insurers indicate that road safety in the Netherlands has been deteriorating rapidly. For the first time in years the number of road deaths has increased to 621 in 2015, while the number of serious road injuries has been increasing for years to reach more than 21,000 in 2015. In the period of just one year the number of crashes increased by no less than 50,000 to reach nearly 850,.000. This means that the Netherlands is rapidly losing its international leading top three position among the countries with the safest traffic and has already dropped to the ninth position on the world list.
The 32 organisations also point out the social costs: crashes cause a damage of no less than 14 billion euros per year, resulting from, among other things, (permanent) injury, material damage and costs incurred by traffic jams.
Recommendations
In its manifesto the collaboration makes dozens of recommendations, such as a safer layout of 30 km/h zones, better and safer cycling infrastructure, safer and smarter vehicles, stricter enforcement of drink-driving and smartphone use, and encouraging safe traffic behaviour.
SWOV’s Managing Director Peter van der Knaap: "This is a unique request. Its strong point being that the stakeholders do not just address the national government, but also indicate what their own active role will be.”
