Five motorcyclists killed in weekend crashes; Push for new safety campaign
Five motorcyclists were killed in accidents across the Netherlands over the past weekend. The Royal Dutch Motorcyclists Association (KNMV) and motorcyclists' action group MAG urged motorcyclists to be extra careful and other road users to be extra aware of the two-wheelers.
A 23-year-old motorcyclist died in Kapelle in Zeeland on Saturday morning in a collision with an agricultural vehicle. A 25-year-old died after being hit by a car in Ederveen in Gelderland a few hours later. On Saturday evening, a 43-year-old man from Groningen got seriously hurt in Winsum when a tractor hit his motorcycle. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital. And during the early hours of Sunday morning, a young man and woman, both 19 and from Cuijk, died in a one-sided motorcycle accident in Oeffelt, Noord-Brabant.
The KNMV urged motorcycle riders to be extra careful on the roads. "It is important that the motorcyclist takes a good look in the mirror before they take to the road in this beautiful weather," Arjan Everink of the KNMV said to Hart van Nederland. "They must ask themself whether their agility is still sufficient." He compared it to skiing, saying that motorcyclists must start slowly. "If you haven't done it for a year and you go straight up the mountain, that is unwise. It is better to take a lesson and take it easy on the road to practice."
Hugo Pinksterboer of MAG will soon meet with the Minister of Infrastructure regarding the safety of motorcyclists. "We then want to argue for a campaign that makes motorists more aware of motorcyclists," he said to Dagblad van het Noorden. Pinksterboer stressed that he's not blaming motorists for the accidents, but many accidents happen because a motorcycle is overlooked.
According to the KNMV, there are about 800,000 active motorcyclists in the Netherlands. They drive about 3,000 kilometers per year on average. Last year, 52 motorcyclists died in accidents on the road, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands.
