German border controls increased traffic congestion in Dutch border area by 50%

Traffic congestion on the A12 and A1 at the border with Germany increased by 50 percent last year, largely due to German border controls. Several border municipalities are fed up with the German controls, complaining about extra traffic as motorists try to avoid the highway border crossings, dangerous situations for cyclists and pedestrians, and accidents, NU.nl reports.

Germany started controls at the border with the Netherlands in September 2024. The goal is to increase domestic security and combat undocumented immigration.

Figures from the road users’ association ANWB show that traffic congestion - the combination of the length and duration of a traffic jam - at the border crossings on the A12 and A1 highways has increased by half on average in 2025, compared to 2024.

“The average extra travel time on the A1 and A12 is about 10 to 15 minutes. And during holiday exodus, it increases somewhat more,’ Heleen de Gest of the ANWB told the newspaper. “We have the impression that checks are carried out intensively, mostly outside of rush hour. During rush hour, delays are manageable.”

Several border municipalities have had enough. After a multi-vehicle collision at the border crossing near Babberich, Mayor Mark Boumans of Doetinchem wrote a post addressed to the German authorities on LinkedIn. “The checks cause significant disruption in our small towns and villages and lead to serious accidents like the one today,” he wrote in German. He said he understood that Germany wants to curb immigration. “But ignoring the negative consequences is simply no longer acceptable.”

NU.nl surveyed the other border municipalities and found similar complaints in Montferland, Zevenaar, and Losser. The municipalities receive complaints about noise, air pollution, traffic congestion, and unsafe situations for pedestrians and cyclists. “There are almost always traffic jams, and serious accidents have occurred, three of which were fatal,” the Overijssel municipality of Losser, located close to the A1 crossing, told the newspaper.

Dinkelland, Tubbergen, and Berkelland, where there are only small border crossings, haven’t noticed much extra inconvenience.