1,000 complaints about fireworks

The hotline, especially established to report nuisance due to fireworks, already received over 1,000 complaints on Sunday, announced Arno Bonte, chairman for GroenLinks in Rotterdam, and initiator of the hotline. It is the second year for the hotline to be opened up. It was established by 15 local GroenLinks fractions. The website came online on Sunday at 12:00. Around midnight the website already registered 2.017 reports. Fireworks / Wikipedia Most of the complaints that came in Sunday concerned early fireworks and loud bangs. Some people complained about loud bangs during the night as early as a few weeks ago. Fireworks may only be set off between 10:00, December 31st and 02:00 January 1st. The fine for setting off fireworks prematurely is 100 euros. The initiators want to bundle all the complaints and present them to the House at a later time. Their goal is to establish that eventually fireworks will only be allowed during professional shows and by professionals, and not by amateurs, as is the case now. This measure is in effect in many other countries already. Every year more and heavier fireworks are set off, with an increase in damages and victims. New Year's eve ends up being less festive for a growing number of people. Last year the hotline received 82,000 complaints within a few weeks. Most complaints pertained to prematurely set off fireworks, loud bangs, and unsafe situations in the streets.