A majority of the
Dutch drivers supports the present traffic measures or believes extra measures
must be taken in order to improve road safety. This is one of the results
of a large-scale EU study called SARTRE, about which SWOV published a report
on 10th December. Measures that find a lot of support are: more police surveillance,
lower alcohol limits for new drivers, introduction of a black box in the
car, improvement of driving education, road improvements, and more information.
SWOV carried out this study as part of the EU study among motorists, in
which their opinion about road safety was asked.
In each of the participating countries, approximately 1000 car driving
licence holders were asked about a large number of road safety subjects,
among which: speed limits, drinking and driving, police surveillance and
traffic measures. SARTRE was also carried out in 1991 and 1996. A total
of 23 European countries took part. SWOV has compared the Netherlands
results with the averages of a control group of 7 of the 23 countries.
Some of the Dutch results are:
More police control, better driving education, more information,
better roads
The participants were asked which topics need to be given more attention
by the government in order to improve road safety. 65% is in favour of
an increase in enforcement, 76% thinks the driving education needs to
be improved, and 68% believes more publicity campaigns are necessary.
Improving roads and laying out more cycle paths in cities both scored
76%. With regards to police control, about 80% 'very much' or 'reasonably'
agrees with installing red light and speeding cameras. A majority also
thinks that police surveillance makes traffic safer.
Harsher treatment of driving under influence
Almost all motorists in the Netherlands feel that drinking and driving
should be punished more severely. 57% think that no alcohol should be
consumed at all before driving. According to 31% the limit should stay
the same, and 10% think the present limit should go down further, from
0.5‰ to (for example) 0.2‰. More than 70% of the Dutch drivers
are in favour of a (European) limit of 0‰ for novice drivers.
Speeding
Almost half of the drivers (41%) is in favour of installing a speed limiter
in the vehicle to prevent speeding offences. 75% is of the opinion that
speed limits on provincial and urban roads should remain the same. Opinions
about speed limits on motorways are divided.
New measures
The majority of the motorists who were interviewed are in favour of the
introduction of new measures like a mandatory course for drivers who have
been caught under the influence of alcohol more than once. Other new measures
that can improve road safety are also supported; like an alcohol lock
in the car (39%), a fatigue detector (55%), and the introduction of a
black box that can record the cause of a crash (63%).
Using the phone while driving
Approximately 30% uses the phone while driving. About 20% of the Dutch
drivers make 1 or 2 phone calls per day with an average car use. 9% makes
3 or more calls per day while driving. It is remarkable that the majority
of Dutch drivers believes that phoning hands free is less dangerous than
phoning handheld. Research has shown, however, that both are equally dangerous.
The SARTRE study
SARTRE stands for Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk Europe. The study
had been carried out earlier in 1991 and 1996 (1991 in 15 countries, 1996
in 18 countries, and 2002 in 23 countries). In each of the participating
countries, approximately 1000 car driving licence holders was asked about
their opinion and experience about: risk perception, speeding, drinking
and driving, seatbelt use, unsafe driving behaviour, police surveillance,
traffic measures, means of transport, and in-car provisions.
The participating countries were: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The full report Meningen,
voorkeuren en verkeersgedrag van Nederlandse automobilisten (R-2003-25),
which is in Dutch but has an English summary, can be consulted online.
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