Traffic is like water; it finds its way everywhere, and you will drown in it unless you take measures to lead it into appropriate channels. But it is also one of the primary necessities of life. At present, annual road casualty figures in Netherlands are: 1300 killed, 12,000 serious and 35,000 other injuries, caused by some 1m road accidents. The present aim of government road safety policy is to reduce, by 2010, fatalities by 50% and serious injuries by 40% compared with 1986. It is hoped to achieve this by: 1. control of mobility, 2. structural modifications of the environment, 3. fundamental changes in behaviour. Amsterdam City Council has adopted the previous target of 25% reduction in road casualties by 2000. The Amsterdam road safety platform endeavours to achieve this by: consultation, traffic advice and education, law enforcement and legal action, infrastructural measures, research. The Amsterdam police operate in four co-ordinated bureaux: central settlement of traffic offences, motorway team, support bureau, policy development bureau. Traffic police place great emphasis on education, engineering (infrastructure/specialist knowledge) and enforcement.
Samenvatting