In 2022, 73 people died from priority violations. The number has risen to a sad record – according to the Dutch Road Safety Board, it is the highest level “for at least a decade”.
That is well above the ten-year average of 55 deaths per year, explains head of road safety research Klaus Robatsch. Single-track vehicles are particularly at risk. Last year, a striking number of pedestrians were also hit. For example, according to data from KFV, motorcyclists have caused only about one percent of priority violation accidents over the past five years. However, their share of the deaths is 27 percent.
Second leading cause of accidents
Priority violations are the second most common cause of traffic accidents involving personal injury. The perceived perception of the population is very different: in the most recent KFV prevention monitor, the sum of the respondents only assumes this cause in twelfth place, in fact, their share has fluctuated between 21 and 25 percent for ten years. The share of the total number of accidents for 2022 is not yet available, but Robatsch describes the number of deaths due to priority violations as a worrying development.
According to preliminary results for 2022, the victims include at least 27 car occupants, eleven pedestrians, nine e-bike users, nine motorcycle users, six moped users and three bicycle users. There are also users of e-scooters, microcars and light motorcycles.
According to the KFV, the proportion of pedestrians was unusually high. In contrast, in a longer-term comparison (2017 to 2021), motorcyclists (27 percent) rank second in relation to car occupants (29 percent), followed by bicycle users (19 percent), pedestrians (16 percent) and moped users users (four percent).
Majority casualties not the main cause of accidents
The vast majority of injuries (78 percent) and deaths (60 percent) were not the main cause of the accident. The difference is even greater for single-lane motorists, as well as for pedestrians. Motorcyclists in particular are “particularly endangered by other road users who do not take priority into account”, according to Robatsch.
The KFV is planning several measures this year in the field of priority violations, including a survey and an exchange with traffic planners, experts, judges, the executive and other specialists to develop improvement proposals.
Key requirements include “less complicated legal arrangements so that pedestrians, cyclists and other groups of people who participate in traffic events without a driving license can better understand the right-of-way rules. Subsequently, however, more knowledge transfer and awareness-raising is also needed, so that these simplified rules are also complied with.”
Source: Krone
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