Dutch gov't aiming for zero traffic deaths, but cutting road safety budget

The Ministry of Infrastructure announced on Budget Day that it is aiming for zero traffic fatalities in 2050. “In order to prevent casualties, we are focusing on structurally improving traffic safety,” the Ministry said. At the same time, the government is decreasing the budget for traffic safety from 38 million euros in 2024 to 15 million euros in 2029, NOS reports.

The Cabinet’s stated wish is “completely contradictory” to its measures, Marco te Brömmelstroet, a professor of urban planning at the University of Amsterdam, told the broadcaster. He added that he is unsurprised.

“We have been showing for 50 years that we consider traffic flow more important than road safety. The focus has mainly been on campaigns for helmets, banners saying ‘The schools are open again,’ and MONO driving. Do we see any effects from that? No, the number of collisions is increasing.” MONO driving is a government campaign urging people to focus only on the road while driving.

According to Te Brömmelstroet, the Netherlands finds it a given fact that traffic exists and is dangerous. “We explain to small children that playing safely on the street is their own responsibility. Why don’t we turn it around and look at what causes the danger? Why do we accept that we are going back to 130 kilometers per hour, while that means more deaths?” he said. “Instead of banning cars that don’t fit in a parking space, we say that victims should have worn a helmet. I missed the conversation about how we have come to consider this normal.”

If the government really wants to prevent traffic deaths, it should set the speed limit to 15 kilometers per hour around primary schools. “Much more concrete than spending millions on a campaign,” the professor said.

Medical and social researcher Ed van Beeck also called the government’s policy unclear. “What I do see are cuts in preventive healthcare, scientific research, municipalities, and provinces. All of which are important for road safety,” he told NOS.

Van Beeck also thinks politicians are focusing on the wrong thing, paying too much attention to the fatbike. “The fatbike - just like other new products - always brings new risks. Accidents are increasing, and it is very good that attention is being paid to this. But it concerns a fraction of all traffic suffering. Elderly people who fall or are hit by a car while cycling have much greater costs and impact. We hardly ever talk about that.”

“Traffic accidents have a disease burden comparable to Covid-19 due to lost years of life and health, but the difference in attention is enormous,” Van Beeck said. “And we are working with figures that are an underestimate.”