Collisions are on the rise in the Netherlands, including cyclist fatalities

Collisions are on the rise in the Netherlands, including cyclist fatalities, according to this November 14 investigation:

Google Translate:

More and more deaths at intersections: 20,000 accidents every year

The number of traffic deaths at intersections is increasing. Last year, the police had 172 fatal accidents, 25 more than in 2016. The total number of intersections accidents has been around 20,000 in recent years, of which 16,000 were injured. Especially cyclists are the bobbin.

This is evident from an extensive analysis of the research editorial staff of RTL News based on data from the police and Rijkswaterstaat about more than 250,000 accidents in the past three years. More than 60,000 of these took place at intersections. 476 of those accidents proved fatal.

"INCREASE IS NO COINCIDENCE"

Professor of transport policy Bert van Wee from TU Delft considers the increase in traffic fatalities at intersections to be significant. "It is so big that we think it can no longer be explained by chance alone. So something must be wrong."

Exactly what the cause should be, further investigation should show. "It could be that cyclists, for example, use their smartphone more often. It is also possible that motorists will drive faster at a number of points, but we all do not yet know that."

ACCIDENTS PER PROVINCE

With 95 fatal accidents, the intersections in North Brabant of all provinces have proved the most fatal in the past three years. In South Holland, most accidents were injured.

CYCLISTS IN PARTICULAR

The majority of fatal accidents occurred within built-up areas, where many different road users come together. Vulnerable road users in particular are the bobbin. More than half of the fatal accidents involved cyclists.

At 142 intersections in the country, the police saw more than 10 accidents in three years or at least 6 were injured. These intersections are therefore so-called black spots.

The intersection where the police have counted the most accidents is in the city of Groningen. The crossing of Bornholmstraat and Kotkastraat was good for at least 30 accidents.

DIRECTIVE HARDLY APPLIED

It is not surprising that some very busy intersections have many accidents. But according to Professor of Transport Policy Bert van Wee of the Technical University in Delft, many dangerous intersections - even the busy ones - can be made safer. "Certainly with the black spots you have to see if you can improve things further with customization."

According to Van Wee, it also helps to reduce the maximum speed within built-up areas. "If you can reduce the speed of traffic, you will see that there are far fewer fatal accidents."

The professor also criticizes the maze of traffic rules at intersections. "We have design guidelines in the Netherlands, so that they are also recognizable. For example, where cyclists should be given priority and where not. Unfortunately, they are not used everywhere. The whole of the Netherlands is full of examples of where there is a lack of clarity."

MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTION ON THE SHOVEL

The municipality of Groningen, manager of the intersection with the most accidents, has taken measures. Cyclists first had priority at the notorious intersection. But they were often the victims of motorists who overlooked them. That is why the priority rules have been reversed.

Now that cyclists no longer have priority, the number of accidents has decreased according to the municipality. But the current structure is not as prescribed by the guidelines, which means that recognisability is reduced. The municipality is therefore brooding on new measures. What exactly it will be is still unknown, but the arrival of a roundabout is certainly possible.

ACCOUNTABILITY

For this investigation, the RTL News investigation editorial team made use of the file for registered accidents in the Netherlands (BRON) from Rijkswaterstaat. The most recent data from that file, from 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been used.

Only accidents for which an exact location is known are included. For the totals, three fatal accidents from 2016 were also included, of which it is only known that they took place at an intersection (not exactly which).

The blackspot method was used to find unsafe intersections. RTL News would have preferred to include the intensity in the analysis too, but unfortunately there is no public data available for every intersection in the Netherlands.

https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/4909226/ongeluk-kruispunt-verkeersdode-toename-verkeer-ongeval

Active Ingredient: A blog reborn

Nearly 17 years ago, I started this blog under the name "Urbification - Taking the sub out of California suburbs." It's been almost 4 years since I posted anything here, but during that time, I was not idle. Now, I've embarked on my next life's work, a book about bicycling and a number of issues related to bicycling, such as a word that did not exist 4 years ago -- "micromobility."

As part of the research for this book, I will be attending a conference this Thursday and Friday, Co-Motion LA 2019. This is the third such annual conference in Los Angeles. Among other things, the public will get to "test ride the latest in new mobility – smart shuttles and cars, electric scooters, e-bikes, hydrogen vehicles, and many more."

Follow my tweets from the conference at https://twitter.com/scottmace2, and check back here later for a summary of what I learned at the conference.