Press release Ministry of Transport and Water Management, 25 April 2006

 

The number of road deaths continues to decrease

Karla Peijs, Dutch Minister of Transport, today made known the road crash figures for 2005. Compared with 2004, there were 7% fewer road deaths, viz. 817 against 881 in the previous year. This was shown by data from the Ministry's Transport Research Centre and the Central Bureau of Statistics. The new data shows a continuation of the downward trend which started with the considerable decrease in 2004.

 

The decrease in the number of road deaths in 2004 and 2005 brought the minister to sharpen the targeted maximum number for 2010. The number given in the Mobility Paper, the target of a maximum of 900 road deaths, has already been outdated by the positive developments in the last two years. That is why the minister intends to fix a new target of 750 road deaths in 2010. She will shortly introduce this proposal to the regional/provincial governments as a new target can only be fixed together with the provinces and councils. They are the ones who fulfil an important role in the road safety policy.

 

Details of the road crash data
In 2005 there was a considerable decrease of road deaths for all of the transport modes except for cyclists and pedestrians.

 

Transport mode
The 15% decrease among car occupants was the largest; from 414 deaths in 2004 to 350 in 2005.
In 2005 there were 21 deaths in a delivery van compared to 18 in 2004. Although his is not a decrease, it is still a continuation of the downward trend in the previous years.
In 2005 there were 78 deaths among motorcyclists and scooter riders, compared with 91 in 2004.
For mopedists and light-mopedists the number decreased from 87 to 77. Because of this development, earlier this year the insurers announced that the damage rates for this group had declined spectacularly. The insurance statistics centre explained this by the fact that mopedists ride in the carriageway and no longer on the cycle track, and that there is now a moped certificate.
The number of bicycle fatalities was 1 higher, 181 in 2005 against 180 in 2004. More than half the cyclists killed were 60 years old or older. In 2005 15 cyclists were killed by a collision with a lorry that was turning right; compared to 16 in 2004.
The number of pedestrians killed in traffic increased from 77 to 89. A relatively large percentage of them also was 60 years old or older. For the coming years, this age group will constitute an important point of special interest.

 

Road type
The number of road deaths decreased on all road types, except the absolute numbers on 30 and 60 km/hour roads. There was an increase in fatalitites in 30 km/h zones, from 35 in 2004 to 41 deaths in 2005. This is also the case for 60 km/h roads, where the number of deaths rose from 42 in 2004 to 54 in 2005. This is caused by the conversion of a large number of 50 km/hour roads into 30 km/h zones, and 80 km/h roads to 60 km/h roads. In relative terms, the number of casualties inr 30 and 60 km/h zones has decreased over the last years. On the 30 and 50 km/h roads this decrease amounted to 7% and on 60 and 80 km/h roads it was 9%.
On 100 km/h roads, there were 43 deaths in 2005 compared to 49 in 2004.
On 120 km/h roads, the number of deaths remained the same at 70.

 

Age group
Practically all age groups had fewer deaths in 2005. The largest decrease was in the youngest age groups, i.e. up to 24 years old.
The decrease among children of up to 15 years old was strikingly large: from 52 in 2004 to 35 in 2005.
Among the 16 and 17 year olds, i.e. the age of novice mopedists, the number remained about the same: 29 in 2005 and 28 in 2004. In 2003 the number was still as high as 49.
There was a large decrease in the group of 18-24 year olds, i.e. the age of novice motorists. There were 158 deaths in 2004 but this decreased to 125 in 2005. The beginner's driving licence which was introduced in 2002, has contributed to this. Since 2002 there has been a decrease from 205 deaths to 125 in 2005, i.e. a decrease of 40%.

 

Explanation of the decrease
The continuous attention for road safety that was demonstrated by the various parties working together has contributed to this positive development. In addition there is the improved safety of new cars. Further analysis of the developments during the last few years can explain the positive developments to a large extent:

• An increased number of 30 and 60 km/hour zones with fewer casualties. A further increase can only strengthen this effect.
• In the 2002-2005 period, €20 million has become available each year for the improvement of regional and local roads. The lower governmental levels doubled this amount from their own sources.
• In the same period, 40% of an additional €90 million from a special infrastructural fund has been used for road safety measures. Assuming an equal amount from road authorities' own sources, €80 million a year extra has been spent on road safety. This extra investment has saved about 36 deaths and 450 in-patients.
• Increase in the number of roundabouts from 1454 in 2001 to 3307 in 2005.
• Introduction of the 'Moped on the Carriageway' and the moped certificate.
• Improvement of vehicle safety. Over the last few years, cars have become ever safer, so that nearly all new cars have ABS and their construction makes cars safer.
• Increased seatbelt use. Among drivers their use went up from 80% to 90%, among front passengers from 79% to 91%, and rear passengers have more than doubled their use from 32% to 69%.
• The police have carried out more controls on red light running. The crash registration indicates a large decrease in the number of crashes involving this behaviour.
• Introduction of road section speed control and prohibition of radar detectors; 1 km/hour reduction in speed leads to a reduction of 4% in fatal crashes.
• Introduction of the beginner's driving licence.
• Public information campaigns combined with enforcement, including the Designated Driver campaign, seatbelt use, child seats, keeping distance, and better use of bicycle lights.

Explanation of the data sources
The Ministry of Transport's Transport Research Centre and the Central Bureau of Statistics together determine the number of road deaths. Hereto they use data from three sources: the police crash reports, the cause of death forms filled in by a doctor or coroner, and court files made up when there has not been a natural death. The recorded data refers to deaths from traffic crashes that occurred in 2005. The number of in-patients in 2005 is not yet available; this number is determined by the number registered by the police in combination with hospital data. These figures will be published in October.

 

 

Ministry of Transport

Anja Sinnema:  +31 70-3517112 or +31 6-51098372