Over 31,000 Dutch people get more than 10 traffic fines per year

Last year, around 31,000 Netherlands residents received over 10 traffic fines, BNR reports based on figures received from the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) through an appeal to the Open Government Act. Previous research showed that such repeat traffic offenders are at least as dangerous on the roads as drunk drivers.

These are fines that fall under the “Mulder Act” for less severe violations - fines for people who drove less than 40 km/h over the speed limit, skipped a red light, or used their phone in traffic, for example. Three-quarters of the fines were for speeding. The number of people receiving over 10 traffic fines per year has been fairly stable for the past three years. The Mulder Act was introduced in 1989 to relieve the Public Prosecution Service. The CJIB can hand fine these offenses without intervention from a judge.

BNR requested these figures after three people died in two accidents caused by people with many traffic fines last year. A young man in Apeldoorn died after getting hit by a Golf-R. In court, it was established that driver Dylan B. was going at least 136 kilometers per hour in the 50 km/h zone. The man also received 55 traffic fines in less than four years prior to the accident, three of them in the same street where he killed the victim. In Alblasserdam, Abdelghafour el B. hit two young women, aged 19 and 18, killing them. He got 52 fines in the four years before the accident.

In 2011, the Institute for Scientific Research on Road Safety (SWOV) studied the link between fines and accidents. They found that the people who receive 11 fines over a period of four years are over 40 times more likely to be involved in an accident than people who don’t get many traffic fines. That is equivalent to the danger posed by someone driving after ten glasses of beer, researcher Sander Kint told BNR. “And the chance of an accident increases exponentially the more fines you receive.”

The Netherlands is far too lenient on repeat offenders in traffic, Rosa Jansen of Victim Support Netherlands told the broadcaster. The organization assists around 38,000 people a year after a traffic accident. Accidents “where someone dies or is seriously injured” often involve repeat offenders, she said. The Netherlands must be much harsher with this group, Jansen said. “You have a murder weapon in your hands with a car, which requires associated responsibility.”

The Dutch parliament has also asked for tougher action against people who receive repeated fines, like other countries already do. In Germany, eight speeding fines in one year result in a driving ban. Austria temporarily suspends your driver’s license if you get 13 fines over three years.

However, according to responsible Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz of Justice and Security, there is little she can do against repeat offenders who fall under the Mulder Act and, therefore, outside criminal law. “If we want to attach more serious consequences to repeated minor traffic violations, the system must be changed,” a Ministry spokesperson told the broadcaster. The Mulder Act states that the owner of the car is responsible for the violation, regardless of whether they were driving. That license plate liability is not enough to convict someone in criminal law.

The Ministry is also not keen on temporarily revoking driver’s licenses outside the scope of criminal law. According to the Ministry, the measure is too severe and also requires a court ruling due to “the often major consequences of a driving ban for the person concerned.” That puts more pressure on the already overburdened criminal justice chain.