Bicycle deadliest mode of transport | Inland

Statistics Netherlands reports this on the basis of the latest accident figures. “But that lowest number in years is absolutely no reason to raise the flag, because there are still two planes full,” says Rob Stomphorst of Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN). “There are 51 fewer than in 2019, but it is still an unacceptable number.”

“It is clear that we are dealing with the highest number of cyclists killed in a quarter of a century and that there were relatively more road deaths during the lockdown. Our aim remains unabated that road safety as a national priority should be a prominent part of the coalition agreement. ”

“A third piloted e-bike”

In 2020, 453 men and 157 women were killed in traffic. 229 of them were killed by bicycle, 26 more than a year earlier. 74 of these people rode an e-bike. With 158 drivers and 37 passengers, 42 fewer people were killed in a car. 44 motorcyclists, 41 pedestrians, 33 moped and light-moped riders, 34 mobility scooters and 23 occupants of a delivery van or truck also died.

Over 60s

Half of the road deaths were 60 years or older. The number of people in their twenties and thirties who died, after an increase in 2019, decreased to the level of the years 2016–2018. The number of road deaths over 80s decreased by 18 percent to 108. In this age category there were fewer road deaths among pedestrians and scooter drivers.

From mid-March 2020 it was less busy on the Dutch roads, partly because many people worked from home and there were hardly any tourists on the road. It is striking that on the days when it was least busy on the road (23 March to 19 April), the number of road deaths was higher than in the same period in 2019. This also applied from 15 June to 12 July 2020. and November 2 to November 29, where the traffic intensity was much lower than a year earlier.

‘Helmet duty’

The Traffic Victims Association is also very concerned about developments in road safety in our country. “We cannot tolerate this and the largest number of bicycle deaths in 25 years requires the introduction of the helmet requirement,” says chairman Nelly Vollebregt. “What are we waiting for in the Netherlands, because the example of the European countries is evident and shows a sharp decline after the introduction of such a duty. In addition, there is a great call from medical specialists to introduce compulsory helmets. ”

“The highest number of deaths occurred in Brabant”

The highest number of fatalities occurred in North Brabant, but the number of road deaths has also fallen the most. In 2020 there were 99 fatal road traffic victims, compared to 142 in 2019 and 150 in 2018. In Zeeland the number rose from 13 to 22 fatalities. In Flevoland there were the fewest road deaths with 10 victims.

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