Skip to main content

Increase in road crashes in the Netherlands

After several years of declining numbers of road crashes and improving safety statistics, the Netherlands is seeing an increase in road fatalities. Research by Dutch insurance umbrella body Verbond van Verzekeraars reveals that the number of crashes in the country is now increasing once more. During 2015 there were 502,000 personal claims following road crashes in the country, coampred with 462,000 in the previous year. Meanwhile the road fatality rate increased from 570 in 2014 to 621 in 2015. Similarly, t
November 1, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
After several years of declining numbers of road crashes and improving safety statistics, the Netherlands is seeing an increase in road fatalities. Research by Dutch insurance umbrella body Verbond van Verzekeraars reveals that the number of crashes in the country is now increasing once more. During 2015 there were 502,000 personal claims following road crashes in the country, coampred with 462,000 in the previous year. Meanwhile the road fatality rate increased from 570 in 2014 to 621 in 2015. Similarly, the number of road crashes increased by 6.5% to 841,000 in 2015 compared with the previous year. A full analysis of the crash data has yet to be carried out but the use of smartphones by drivers is thought to be the primary reason by this worrying increase in road crashes. The Netherlands has a good record on road safety and its low crash rate on its network makes it amongst the 10 safest countries in the world for road users. This latest study suggests however the need to implement new measures to endemic tackle phone use by drivers.

Related Content

  • Algeria’s improving road safety
    August 22, 2018
    Algeria is seeing a major improvement in road safety due to a combination of better driver education and tougher enforcement actions. Official figures show a 59% drop in road crashes in the last three years. In the period from 1st January to 17th August 2014 there were 24,388 recorded road crashes compared with 20,631 for the same period in 2015, 14,452 in 2016, 10,505 in 2017 and 6,928 in 2018. During the first seven months of 2018 there were 5,076 road crashes in Algeria, which resulted in 1,512
  • Effective signage and road markings boost road safety
    February 24, 2012
    Effective signage and the use of roadmarkings in the most effective manner can reduce risks for all road users - Mike Woof writes
  • DFT study highlights prevalence of cellphone use by drivers
    February 25, 2015
    A study on behalf of the Department for Transport by the Transport Research Laboratory into the prevalence of illegal mobile phone use while driving has been released. The TRL has said that the data gives greater understanding of who is using mobile phones while driving and for what purpose, and how this can then be used to support future policy development. The figures show in 2014, 1.1% of drivers in England and Scotland were observed holding a phone in their hand with a further 0.5% observed holding the
  • The drivers most at fault for US car crashes
    June 26, 2023
    A new report highlights the drivers most at fault for US car crashes.