Still many accidents on 30 km/h speed roads

A study from the consultancies Goudappel and DTV Consultants in 15 municipalities showed that a large number of accidents are still occurring on roads where the speed limit is 30 kilometers per hour. And the fault does not solely lie on speeding motorists, RTL Nieuws reports.

Especially streets where the speed limit used to be 50 km/h see many casualties. The consultancy firms say this is because roads have not been sufficiently adjusted . “If the roads are very broad then people drive recklessly”, Rico Andriesse of Goudappel said to the broadcaster. “If they are too narrow, then roads become too crowded through which more accidents happen.”

Many injuries also seem to occur near pedestrian crossings. One possible solution would be to place a speed bump shortly before the crossings, Andriesse said. “In addition, you can slow down car drivers by taking away their priority and laying cobblestones. Good broad bike paths lead to more safety for cyclists and car drivers overtake cyclists more carefully.”

The government is aiming to introduce a 30 kilometer per hour speed limit in all Dutch cities. In December, Minister of Infrastructure Cora van Nieuwenhuizen announced that municipalities will be receiving 165 million euros to ensure road safety.