More phone-use fines, fewer speeding tickets as traffic enforcement rises in Netherlands
Traffic enforcement in the Netherlands intensified in 2025, with fines for handheld mobile phone use increasing by more than 83,000 while speeding tickets fell by nearly 500,000, driving the overall number of traffic penalties below the previous year’s total, according to the information released Monday by the Ministry of Justice and Security, the Public Prosecution Service, police, and the Central Judicial Collection Agency.
Fines for holding a mobile electronic device, such as texting while driving or cycling, rose from 165,408 in 2024 to 248,020 in 2025. The Public Prosecution Service said more than 73,000 of those violations were detected by “focus flitsers,” specialized cameras introduced in 2025. The remaining offenses were recorded by police through traffic stops or technical equipment.
Distracted driving remains a major road safety risk, authorities said, prompting further expansion of enforcement in 2026. The number of focus flits is set to increase to 50 by the end of the year.
Police also conducted more traffic stops in 2025, leading to a rise in fines issued after drivers were pulled over. Authorities imposed 589,281 penalties following police stops, up from 510,420 in 2024. Among the increases were fines for cyclists riding without lights, which climbed from 34,001 to 42,233, and for motorists not wearing seat belts, which rose from 26,281 to 33,360.
Environmental driving restrictions showed a mixed pattern. After nearly doubling in 2024 to almost 300,000, fines for entering environmental zones or car-restricted city centers fell in 2025 to just over 230,000. However, authorities issued 40,934 fines for violations of newly introduced zero-emission zones.
Overall, the total number of administrative traffic fines issued under the Administrative Enforcement of Traffic Regulations Act, known as Mulder fines, declined to 7,570,861 in 2025 from 7,913,692 a year earlier. Officials said the decrease was driven largely by the drop in speeding fines, partly due to the replacement of enforcement equipment.
Red-light violations remained nearly unchanged, rising slightly from 214,962 in 2024 to 215,539 in 2025. Parking violations increased to 493,220, up from 465,819 the year before.
