The number of reported incidents involving trucks has increased sharply in recent years. In 2017 there were 5773 reports, in 2018 6111 and last year 7811, according to figures from the Incident Management Trucks Foundation (STIMVA).
A possible cause of the increase is that, due to the improving economy, there was more and more freight traffic on the road. Another factor was that it was often extremely hot last year. There was unusual heat in no less than 14 days. On these days there were twice as many accidents as normal.
Recovery companies are increasingly able to clear the road within an hour. Last year, 56 percent of the salvages were completed within an hour, in 2016 this was 49 percent, according to the annual report of the Incident Management Trucks Foundation (STIMVA).
According to the report, only 1 percent of the traffic jams are caused by a truck accident, but the impact of those traffic jams is at least four times greater than average. Last year, for example, 4.3 percent of the extra travel time due to traffic jams was caused by a truck incident.
Dutch drivers
The entire road is blocked more often than in other accidents after incidents involving trucks. Truck accidents often wreak havoc. The road surface must then be cleaned or repaired and the cargo cleared and transferred to another truck.
The report does not confirm the suspicion that foreign drivers are responsible for many accidents. A Dutch driver is involved in almost two thirds of all truck accidents. In 9 percent of the cases the driver is Polish, in 4 percent the driver is Romanian and in 4 percent of the cases it is German.
Tire puncture
More accidents than normal on tropical days is mainly due to tire failure, which is an important cause of truck accidents anyway.
To reduce the number of problems with truck tires, tests are being carried out on the A16 and the N279, the provincial road between Den Bosch and Horn in North Limburg.
The tire pressure of all trucks is measured on the A16 at Dordrecht on the right lane. The system recognizes extreme deviations. Transport companies participating in the trial will be notified.
The tire pressure is also measured on the N279, but there the driver is immediately warned with a sign along the road if the pressure is not correct. The first results of these tests are positive, the STIMVA reports.
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