Abstract
The article answers questions on how hazards on rural roads in the netherlands are changing both nationally and regionally, and whether there are characteristics compared with other (major) roads which make special studies necessary. The conclusion is that 13 per cent of the injury accidents take place on rural roads causing 25 per cent of all fatalities. The overall accident figures are now decreasing but the share of rural traffic accidents seems to be increasing. There are more one-party accidents than on non-rural roads and also more conflicts near exits, and more accidents involving bicycles/mopeds and pedestrians. More studies are desirable to tackle these problems.