Road safety coalition calls on government and politicians to improve road safety

This call from the Road Safety Coalition is a response to the various reports on road safety that have been shared with the House of Representatives. One of the important findings is that the social costs of road safety amount to 27 billion annually. This amount is much higher than expected.

The Netherlands has the ambition for 2050: zero road casualties. However, this ambition appears to be too noncommittal for politicians and government. Politicians must intervene.

Bicycle crash figures in the Netherlands

For many years, the Netherlands was one of the most traffic-safe countries in the world. This international leading position has been lost in the past decade. The number of cyclists seriously injured in an accident has increased by a third in the past ten years. This is the conclusion of research by the Safety NL knowledge centre. Almost 50% of these crashes involved cyclists over the age of 55. It mainly concerns unilateral cycling accidents. Own behavior was the main cause, such as braking or steering errors.

Young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have also suffered serious injuries in bicycle accidents. The popularity of electric bicycles – bicycles with pedal assistance up to 25 kilometers per hour – seem to play a role. Accident prevention is essential.

Top 10 to improve road safety

The Fietsersbond, together with the Road Safety Coalition and several dozen social organizations and knowledge institutions, has drawn up a top 10 for improving road safety. These 10 points are explained to you below:

Car speed must be reduced

To reduce the number of cyclists who die in traffic due to a collision with a car, it is important that the speed of cars is reduced. The advice is to introduce a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour in built-up areas and 60 kilometers per hour outside.

Provide good infrastructure for cycle paths

As mentioned earlier, most bicycle accidents are single-vehicle accidents. In addition to braking or steering errors, poor infrastructure is also cited as one of the major causes of this type of accident. Cycle paths must be wide enough, there must be a good verge, better lines, no high curbs and bollards must be removed.

Make sure, for example, that a truck does not encounter cyclists. It is important that main cycle routes are separated from car routes.

Minimize pressure from cars

To prevent accidents between cars and cyclists, it is important that car traffic is minimized. Especially in places near schools, childcare or in the city, for example. Children and adults can walk more safely this way.

Road use for everyone

Where roads are now mainly designed for motorists, the advice is to start with walkers and cyclists. Particular attention should be given to vulnerable road users, such as children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Optimize road maintenance

A pothole in the road, tiles that are loose or tree roots that make the road surface crooked. But also slippery roads and failure to repair frost damage. These are all situations in which cycling accidents are caused by poor road maintenance. Better maintenance of the roads should prevent a large proportion of cycling accidents.

Overtaking cyclists

In France, motorists must keep a distance of one meter from cyclists in built-up areas. Outside that, a distance of 1.5 meters applies. This is indicated in the Code de la route. In the Netherlands we do not have such a rule about minimum distance between cyclists and motorists when overtaking. It is advised to include more overtaking in the Dutch traffic law.

Guidelines for municipality or province

Currently, a municipality or province can decide for itself what a road should look like. There are no fixed rules for this. The CROW does have guidelines for furnishing. These guidelines are largely followed. Yet this is not always the case. In order to increase road safety, the advice is to only deviate from the guidelines for road design if there is good motivation.

Better registration of bicycle accidents

Better registration of cycling accidents and research into their causes is needed. Despite the figures available to us, there appear to be many more. Due to poor registration, it is not possible to name an exact number of cycling accidents. This must change, according to the Fietsersbond.

Cycling education as a law and increasing cycling skills

It is said: you never forget cycling. But what if you’ve never learned how to ride a bike properly? The Fietsersbond is committed to making cycling education a right. Encouraging good lighting on your bicycle, maintenance of brakes, and taking other road users into account are also part of increasing cycling skills.

Are you looking for good lighting for your bike? Then take a look at the XLC Lighting sets. These work on battery. Prefer lighting that works on a battery? Then take a look at the AXA Greenline 1-Led.