On 2 May 2017, Statistics Netherlands announced: in 2016 the number of road deaths in the Netherlands reached a total of 629.
This means that the number of road deaths is considerably higher than was to be expected on the basis of the downward trend up to 2015 and is therefore cause for concern. This is the third time in a row that no decline could be observed since the downward trend commenced in the 1970s. SWOV now considers the target of a maximum of 500 road deaths by 2020 to be out of reach. Only an exceptional decline can bring achieving the target within range again. Earlier the objective of a maximum of 10,600 serious road injuries by 2020 was already deemed unattainable.
SWOV Managing Director Peter van der Knaap: "An increase such as the present one is extremely worrying and underlines the appeal that we made last month together with more than 30 other organizations: 'Make road safety a national priority for the next government'. The mobility in our country is growing in each of the scenarios of the planning agencies. A systematic road safety approach is therefore of greater importance than ever before."
SWOV, will investigate the developments regarding road deaths and serious road injuries and publish the results in a new Road Safety Monitor late 2017.
More information about the number of road deaths can be found in the updated Fact sheet Road deaths in the Netherlands. The data can be consulted via our Road map – Road safety data.
