Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
30 km/h speed limit road sign
30 km/h speed limit road sign - Credit: Photo: bensib/DepositPhotos
Politics
speed limit
Amsterdam
Rotterdam
Utrecht
The Hague
Tweede Kamer
Egbert de Vries
road safety
speed-reducing measures
Wednesday, 1 December 2021 - 09:10
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Large cities want to lower speed limit to 30 km/h

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht want to lower the maximum speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour throughout the cities, they said in a letter to parliament. About half the roads in the Netherlands' four largest cities have a speed limit of 30 km/h. The others have 50 km/h, AD reports.

"In the past, we gave the car too much space in the cities, now the quality of life is paramount. If we want to protect pedestrians and cyclists better, we have to take action," Amsterdam's traffic alderman, Egbert de Vries, said to the newspaper.

Introducing a 30 km/h speed limit on the larger roads in the cities is legally tricky because speed-reducing measures like speed bumps are mandatory on these roads. If cities lower the speed limit without installing speed bumps, they are legally liable in the event of accidents. But this is unfeasible because it also slows down emergency services like the fire brigade or ambulance.

Cyclists' association Fietserbond is happy about the plans. It has been lobbying for a lower speed limit for years, the association said to AD. The road safety research foundation SWOV is also a supporter. "The risk of a fatal injury is significantly lower in a collision at 30 kilometers per hour," a spokesperson said to the newspaper.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, is debating road safety on Thursday.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Hospitals vary widely in when they refer babies to pediatricians
  • The Netherlands has given Ukraine over €1 billion in military aid alone
  • The Netherlands and Morocco look to expand extradition agreement
  • Confidence in Dutch government & central bank has fallen sharply
  • Air France-KLM, Lufthansa could acquire bankrupt Flybe to access landing slots
  • Dutch more worried about natural disasters; Half think country will become uninhabitable

Top stories

  • Netherlands to send a search & rescue team to Turkey after 7.8 magnitude earthquake
  • Dutch employers becoming less critical during hiring process
  • Multiple writers receive threats after defending Pim Lammers, "Unacceptable": Dutch PM
  • Woman killed, 10 hurt in several stabbing incidents over the weekend
  • Regional bus, train staff start 5-day strike; Some Arriva trains running, NS unaffected
  • Police arrest suspect for fatal fire in Arnhem

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content