From Monday it is illegal in the Netherlands to use your smartphone while cycling. Those caught texting while biking will face a fine of 95 euros. The goal of this ban is to increase traffic safety by decreasing distractions.
The ban also applies to using mobile devices while operating other types of vehicles, such as cars, scooters, motorcycles, mobility scooters and trams. Drivers caught texting while using a motorized vehicle face a fine of 240 euros.
RAI, the branch organization for the car and bicycle industry, wants to lower the speed limit on urban roads to 30 kilometers per hour, instead of 50 km/h. This is better for road safety, and will also help lower noise pollution from traffic, RAI chairman Steven van Eijck said to NOS.
The Netherlands' safe traffic association VVN will start giving Amsterdam Uber drivers traffic safety training next week. This training is mandatory for all Uber drivers in the Dutch capital who are under the age of 25, NU.nl reports.
Uber is taking measures following a series of fatal accidents involving its drivers in Amsterdam. The ride-hailing service is increasing the minimum age for its drivers from 18 to 21 years, and new drivers must have at least a year of driving experience. Uber, in cooperation with safe traffic association VVN, is also developing a mandatory road safety course for all its drivers under the age of 25, NOS reports.
The age limit will only apply to new drivers, existing drivers who are under the age of 21 can continue to work for Uber.
The Dutch association for traffic safety VVN wants to ban Uber from the road after a series of fatal accidents involving Uber taxis. "Four deaths in six weeks and yesterday another incident in Amsterdam where a 9-year-old girl was seriously injured and the driver just drove off", Rob Stomphorst of VVN said to the Telegraaf.
Around 600 thousand traffic signs in the Netherlands are redundant, and the mess of signs along the road actually decrease road safety, according to safe traffic association VVN, the government's knowledge center on traffic and transport CROW, and HR Groep, the Telegraaf reports.
The Netherlands counts over 3 million traffic signs. 20 percent of them are superfluous. The organizations call for these redundant signs to be removed, because they distract motorists and may cause them to overlook more important road signs.
As schools reopen after the summer holidays, Dutch safe traffic association VVN is calling on trucks to stay away from schools, especially when schools start and get out. This can help prevent serious accidents involving children, the association said to AD.
"They could ride a quarter of an hour earlier or later, or take a different route", VVN spokesperson Rob Stomphorst said to the newspaper.
Driving while tired is just as dangerous as driving when you've had too much to drink, safe traffic association VVN warns as the summer holidays are about to start in the Netherlands, RTL Nieuws reports.
Many Dutch are going away on holiday. But driving long distances can make you tired, which results in slower response rates and finding it more difficult to keep on course, according to the VVN. Sleepy drivers also make less use of their car's mirrors, which means they are less aware of the road around them. This increases the chance of traffic accidents.
Bicycle paths in the Netherlands are increasingly dangerous, according to safe traffic association VVN. Currently some 65 thousand cyclists end up at an emergency room every year, the association said to the Telegraaf.
Children in the Netherlands increasingly grow up without learning to ride the bicycle, instead walking or being driven to school, according to traffic safety association VVN. Parents often find it too dangerous to send their kids to school on a bicycle, but not being able to cycle could be detrimental to children's development, VVN warns, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Ministry of Security and Justice is planning harsher punishments for using your smartphone while driving. A legislative proposal is being prepared that will put smartphone usage behind the wheel under reckless driving. This could mean immediate jail time if you're caught, NU.nl reports.
After six weeks of relatively quiet roads, commuters can expect more traffic on Monday as schools in the central regions of the Netherlands reopen after the summer holiday. Safe traffic association VVN warns motorists to keep a wary eye out for children crossing the road or cycling to school today, AD reports.
Telecom provider KPN and the foundation for safe traffic in the Netherlands VVN teamed up to invent a smart bicycle lock. The lock is not only an anti-theft measure - it can only be unlocked with a smartphone app - but also prevents cyclists from using their smartphones while cycling. If the bike is unlocked, the phone's network connection is disconnected, NU.nl reports.
To reduce the number of casualties on Dutch roads, it is necessary to equip all cars with breathalyzers, speed limiters and a device that makes it impossible to use a cellphone while driving, National Police commissioner Egbert-Jan van Hasselt said to the Telegraaf.
According to the commissioner, motorists' behavior is getting worse and worse. "Distraction, alcohol and speeding in traffic are increasingly often the cause of accidents", Van Hasselt said to the newspaper. "I appeal to politicians to work on this."
Over 30 percent of nurses and caregivers think that an "irresponsible" number of tasks are left up to informal caregivers, according to a survey by the nurses and carers association V&VN among nearly a thousand of its members
A shortage of specialist community nurses is leading to kids having to stay longer in hospital than medically necessary. This extra time in hospital because no home care is available can easily run up to 12 weeks, according to nurses organization V&VN.
A growing shortage of highly trained nurses has professional associations and healthcare organizations concerned. Sectors such as district nursing, nursing hoes and specialist departments in hospitals, like oncology and dialysis, are particularly affected by the "worrying shortage", Sonja Kersten, director of nurses' professional association V&VN.
One in eight drivers in the Netherlands do not have optimal driving vision. 2.4 percent of drivers have such poor vision that they should not be allowed on the road according to the driving standards authority CBR.
Safe Traffic Netherlands (VVN) has introduced a bicycle exam for seniors. They are often the victims of traffic accidents.
Safe Traffic Netherlands (Veilig Verkeer Nederland – VVN) calls on parents to check the bikes of their children very well at the start of the new school year. "There is often something wrong with the brakes or the lights. Also the bell is often missing," said a spokesman of VVN on Saturday.
