Sharp increase in traffic jams in Netherlands

Traffic jams in the Netherlands increased sharply in the first three months of 2018, travelers association ANWB announced on Wednesday. Traffic jam severity - the length of the traffic jam multiplied by its duration - increased by over 25 percent, NU.nl reports.

The ANWB attributes the increase in traffic to more vehicles on the road and bad weather conditions. Rain and storms caused multiple traffic jams on Dutch roads in January. On January 18th, for example, over 60 trucks toppled due to strong winds, closing multiple roads. 

March was also "significantly busier than in recent years", according to the ANWB. "This was due to a large number of serious accidents in which trucks were involved. The often lengthy restrictions on traffic caused a lot of traffic problems." The busiest rush hour in the first quarter of this year happened on Tuesday evening, March 27th. Rain showers and accidents led to a lot of delays. At its peak, there was a total of 927 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch highways.

Traffic around Amsterdam remained about the same as last year. But the roads in Zuid-Holland, Gelderland and the southern provinces were significantly busier.