Speed limit could rise to 130 km/h on more Dutch highways

Motorists may soon be able to drive faster on more highways. The speed limit will be increased to 130 kilometers per hour on 19 routes early next year. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment announced this on Thursday, AD reports. This will bring the percentage of highways with a 130 km/h speed limit up from 49 percent to 61 percent. The Ministry's aim is to eventually have 75 percent of the Dutch highways at the maximum speed limit. "We are getting longer, uninterrupted stretches where you can drive 130 kilometers per hour. The image on the highways is therefore becoming clearer", Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen said in a statement. Affected highways include parts of the A27, A28, A50, A58 and A65. On 10 percent of the affected highways motorists will only be allowed to drive 130 km/h at night. Last week the VVD and PvdA agreed to also increase the speed limit on the entire A2 between Amsterdam and Utrecht to 130 km/h. Last week environmental organization Milieudefensie stated that higher speed limits on roads lead to considerably higher emissions of nitrogen dioxide, according to AD. If speed limit increases from 100 to 130 km/h, emissions increase by 46 percent.