Skip to main content

SWOV says Dutch roads too narrow and need widening to cut accidents

The scientific institute on traffic safety Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid (SWOV) in the Netherlands has called for many national roads to be widened to cut accident levels. SWOV argues that a large share of Dutch roads with a 80km/h maximum speed limit are too narrow. Such roads are on average 7.5m wide, making them, SWOV says, among the narrowest in the world, with traffic having an average 2.75m of space to use. According to SWOV this should be at least 3.3m, which, it claims, cou
August 15, 2013 Read time: 1 min
The scientific institute on traffic safety Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid (7450 SWOV) in the Netherlands has called for many national roads to be widened to cut accident levels.

SWOV argues that a large share of Dutch roads with a 80km/h maximum speed limit are too narrow. Such roads are on average 7.5m wide, making them, SWOV says, among the narrowest in the world, with traffic having an average 2.75m of space to use. According to SWOV this should be at least 3.3m, which, it claims, could reduce the number of accidents by 10%.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • China's economic growth fuelling vehicle increase
    February 21, 2012
    China is at a turning point in many ways. The country's continuing economic growth is fuelling a massive increase in vehicle numbers, with no signs of slackening. This is most acute and most visible in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic jams are now a frequent occurrence
  • Safety barriers improve highway safety
    July 3, 2012
    Highway safety could yet improve using available technology more widely Safety barriers still offer huge opportunities to improve accident statistics worldwide. There is a wide array of products on the market to suit all types of installation and with a diverse range of solutions for each application. Highway authorities have been installing barriers for many years now and the technology continues to improve, however an analysis of accident statistics shows that barriers offer further potential. Details fr
  • China's economic growth fuelling vehicle increase
    March 14, 2012
    China is at a turning point in many ways. The country's continuing economic growth is fuelling a massive increase in vehicle numbers, with no signs of slackening. This is most acute and most visible in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic jams are now a frequent occurrence. One recent Beijing tailback stretched nearly 100km along a major highway and was caused by roadworks at a particularly busy stretch of the road.
  • Microplastics: a review of the research
    June 4, 2020
    Sweden’s VTI and Chalmers University have catalogued the available literature.