Skip to main content

Netherlands road risk for cyclists

A change in road risk has been seen in the Netherlands, with more cyclists than drivers being killed on the country’s roads in 2017. The data came from the Dutch statistics bureau, CBS. The research suggests that there are two key factors in this change. Firstly, motor vehicles are generally safer now than in the past, with better crash protection and other safety technologies. Meanwhile an increase in the numbers and performance of electric bicycles and their use by a greater number of older riders is
April 30, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

A change in road risk has been seen in the Netherlands, with more cyclists than drivers being killed on the country’s roads in 2017. The data came from the Dutch statistics bureau, CBS. The research suggests that there are two key factors in this change. Firstly, motor vehicles are generally safer now than in the past, with better crash protection and other safety technologies. Meanwhile an increase in the numbers and performance of electric bicycles and their use by a greater number of older riders is thought to be a significant factor in the rise in cycling deaths. The CBS data shows that 201 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, compared with 231 deaths in 2016. Meanwhile there were 206 cyclist deaths on the road network in the Netherlands in 2017, compared with 189 in 2016. Of those cyclists killed in crashes, around 67% were aged 65 or more. Overall there were 613 deaths on the country’s roads in 2017, compared with 629 in 2016.

Related Content

  • Safety rallying call to English councillors after road death rise
    July 9, 2012
    English councils have been urged to protect the public on the roads by “whatever means is appropriate” after the first rise in road deaths in the country for eight years. Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said data obtained by the Foundation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) showed there had been “no mass switch off” of speed cameras in England despite two years of Government road safety funding cuts. But Glaister fears an ageing national network of existing speed camera
  • Road safety improvement for the US
    December 11, 2012
    The US is seeing improvements in road safety overall, with a drop in road crash statistics for 2011. The data for 2011 is encouraging and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new analysis indicating that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011. This marked the lowest level of road related fatalities since 1949, 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, this updated 2011 data show the historic downward trend in recent years continu
  • US pedestrian deaths fall but remain high
    June 27, 2024
    According to analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association - GHSA – annual US pedestrian traffic deaths fell for first time since the pandemic, but are still above the pre-pandemic level.
  • Improving safety for Europe’s roads revealed by latest data
    May 24, 2013
    A wide variety of road safety measures are being implemented across Europe, and with generally beneficial effects. According to the latest data from the European Commission, road fatalities across the EU dropped 9% for 2012 compared with the previous year. In fact 2012 also saw the lowest numbers of people being killed in road traffic crashes in EU countries since data first began being collated. But country by country statistics show that the number of road deaths still varies greatly across the EU.