Parents cite enforcement failures after child killed by microcar on bike path
The parents of 12-year-old Saar Westerhuis, who died in late February after being struck by a Birò microcar on a bike path, are calling for urgent action to prevent further tragedies. Bas Westerhuis, 45, and Cobie Kuipers, 43, are demanding stricter enforcement of traffic laws and greater awareness among drivers of microcars, which are prohibited on most bike paths under Dutch law, Het Parool reports.
The fatal crash occurred on Wednesday, February 26, just before 4:30 p.m. Saar had been cycling with two friends toward dance class when a Birò traveling in the opposite direction struck her. Saar, who was riding on the outer side, appeared to have taken the brunt of the impact. The Birò was driven by a 25-year-old woman.
Photos of the Birò showed a shattered front windshield. According to her parents, the impact must have been devastating. “Such a microcar is not that big,” Kuipers told Het Parool. “But it’s very flat and straight at the front. If you hit it, the consequences are enormous. It must have been like hitting a wall. Saar didn’t stand a chance.”
Saar was taken to the hospital, but despite resuscitation efforts, she died from her injuries. “Internally, the damage was enormous,” Kuipers said, declining to specify her daughter's injuries in detail. “This just shouldn’t happen.”
Since the accident, Saar’s parents say they have been repeatedly confronted by microcars continuing to use the same bike path where their daughter was killed — despite the clear prohibition.
One such moment happened recently when Bas returned to work for the first time since the crash. Standing at the bus stop on Burgemeester Stramanweg, he saw a Birò approaching on the bike path. He gestured with his arms to signal that the driver wasn’t allowed there. The driver, an older man, stopped and opened his door. “I said, this is a bike path, you’re not allowed here,” Bas recounted to Het Parool. “He replied, ‘Where am I supposed to drive then?’ I said, ‘That’s your responsibility.’ Then I told him, ‘I’m the father of the girl who was killed here by a Birò last month.’ He was shocked and drove away through the village.”
Another confrontation occurred at the end of March, exactly one month after Saar’s death. Bas and Cobie were cycling toward the bridge over the Amstel, carrying a sunflower to lay at the crash site. They again spotted a Birò approaching on the same path. Bas considered blocking the path with his bicycle to confront the driver, but Cobie urged him not to.
“These vehicles are simply not allowed on bike paths,” said Bas. “Yet if you go look, you won’t see a single Birò driver obeying that. Without exception, they take the bike path.”
Day of the crash
February 26 had started like any other day. Saar exchanged messages with her mother about staying over at a friend’s house and asked for more mobile data after reaching her limit.
Bas was returning home from work when his bus stopped unexpectedly. The driver announced a serious accident had occurred on the bridge over the Amstel. He called Cobie, who was planning to pick him up. As she waited, her phone rang. It was a police officer calling from their home using the phone of their 9-year-old son Sam. “Don’t be alarmed,” the officer said. “You need to come home immediately.”
When Bas got in the car and heard the police were at their house, he knew something was terribly wrong. “I immediately said to Cobie: it’s Saar. The police don’t just show up at your door.”
Back home, the officer asked them to sit down. “There’s been an accident involving Saar,” she said. “They tried to resuscitate her, but she died.”
Their daughter was still lying at the accident site, where authorities had erected a tent. While coping with the initial shock, the parents contacted their own parents and told Sam what had happened to his sister. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Bas said, breaking down in tears.
The couple recently learned from police that the Public Prosecution Service likely will not press charges against the 25-year-old driver. That decision is especially painful for Bas and Cobie, who believe the driver was in clear violation of the law.
Bas noted that just one month before the accident, the same driver had received a traffic fine — for driving on the road, not the bike path, at the same location. “An unjustified fine that sent the wrong signal,” he said. “Now it’s being treated as if the girls cycling three abreast canceled that out.”
“That’s completely unacceptable,” Bas added. “The Birò wasn’t allowed on the bike path. These rules are clear — they’re listed on the Dutch government’s website and even explained clearly on Birò’s own website.”
Cobie added: “I think there’s a lot of confusion because so many of these vehicles are seen on bike paths. That gives people the impression it must be allowed. But the rules are clear — they’re just not being enforced.”
Despite their grief, Cobie and Bas say they do not want vengeance. “We’re not saying the driver should go to prison,” Bas said. “But a message must be sent. What she did was not allowed. And there has to be accountability.”
The parents emphasize that most bike paths are far too narrow to accommodate both bicycles and microcars, especially on two-way paths. A Birò can weigh up to 288 kilograms and reach speeds of 45 kilometers per hour — far heavier and faster than a bicycle.
“The drivers are protected in a metal cage,” said Cobie. “A cyclist has no such protection. The chance of serious injury in a collision is much higher.”
She researched accident data and concluded that the higher the speed, the greater the chance of serious injuries or fatalities. “When a vehicle hits a cyclist, the odds of surviving drop rapidly as the speed increases.”
Saar’s presence is still felt at home. A framed photo of her sits on the dining table, next to a lit candle. Cobie looked at it during the interview with Het Parool. “Last year we went to London together. I was amazed at how she moved through the city, chatting with people in her broken English. She was brave, creative, full of self-confidence. When I was her age, I didn’t dare do anything.”
Cobie and Bas are also parents to 9-year-old Sam and a 2-year-old daughter. “You can’t just sit on the couch with the curtains closed crying all day,” Cobie said. “They need structure. We have to keep going.”
Still, the pain is ever-present. “You live in a nightmare,” she said. “But nightmares end. This doesn’t. I told someone recently: I hope there’s a maximum to how much you can miss someone. But there isn’t.”
Bas and Cobie are urging immediate action. “There should be clear signage showing that microcars are not allowed on bike paths,” Bas said. “Drivers need to take responsibility and plan their routes properly.”
Cobie added, “They should ask themselves: where can I go without driving on an 80 km/h road or a bike path? Maybe that means going a few kilometers out of the way. The Birò is meant for city use. If you stay on the road and follow the rules, it’s not the vehicle itself that’s the problem.”
“I understand it’s a complicated message for Birò drivers,” said Bas. “But they need to understand they can’t drive everywhere.” “This must never happen again,” Cobie added.
