Dutch road safety targets for 2020 are ‘out of reach’, according to SWOV, the Institute for Road Safety Research in the Netherlands.
In 2019, the number of road deaths in the Netherlands was 661; 17 fewer than in 2018.
But SWOV says that over the past ten years the trend has not declined and that, considering the number of road deaths expected in 2020, it is certain that the target – a maximum of 500 road deaths in 2020 – will not be achieved.
The road safety research organisation says it is even less hopeful that safety targets for the number of serious road injuries will be met.
“With a number of 21,400 people seriously injured in 2019, an increasing trend is found over the past ten years,” said SWOV.
“This also means that the target – a maximum of 10,600 serious road injuries in 2020 – is far from achievable.”
The organisation says that more effective measures are necessary, especially for cyclists, riders of mobility scooters, the elderly and on access roads. It is calling for safer infrastructure and more police enforcement.
