In a letter to the cabinet and the house of representatives, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht are rushing a decision to reduce the maximum speed limit within the cities to 30 kilometres per hour.
While almost half of the roads in these cities already have a 30 kilometres per hour limit in place, half are still far from adequate as their roads are getting busier, says AD.
Take for example Amsterdam, which — according to the city’s alderman for Traffic and Transportpoints, records that 80% of their traffic accidents happen on roads with a maximum speed of 50 kilometres per hour. That’s alarming! 🛑
All in all, this urgent push by the four cities really comes down to reducing the number of fatal road casualties. “In the past, we gave cars too much space in cities, now quality of life is paramount. If we want to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, we have to take action,” says Amsterdam’s alderman for Traffic and Transport.
Limitations
There are legal restrictions surrounding this 30 km/h mission, however. For example, there’s a legal liability if a road has a lower speed limit but do not have speed bumps — therefore the city becomes liable in case of an accident on such road.
Yet, as the cities argue in their letter, these speed-reducing items such as speed bumps do get in the way if installed on major roads. Emergency services vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks can’t rush on-site if all roads had speed bumps according to RTL Nieuws.
The Dutch house of representatives is expected to debate road safety in a session tomorrow, and hopefully, the decisions and arguments don’t leave us like deer in headlights.
What do you think of the proposed plan by the major cities to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h? Tell us in the comments!
Feature Image: z1bjkeee/Depositphotos
Total rubbish. Why not educate the public on how to cross the road safely. Why not ensure cyclists HAVE to wear a helmet… Too many do gooders are crucifying the motorist.