More than 2.4 million traffic offences in first four months of 2022
In the first four months of 2022, 2,440,672 traffic offences were detected. These include speeding, driving through a red traffic light and using a handheld mobile phone while driving. In comparison with the same period last year, this is an increase of more than 9%. During that period, 2,233,562 fines were issued for minor traffic offences on Dutch roads under the Traffic Regulations (Administrative Enforcement) Act (Wet administratiefrechtelijke handhaving verkeersvoorschriften, Wahv). This is evident from the first four-monthly summary of traffic fines for 2022.
Covid-19 has played a substantial role in society in recent years, and it also had an impact on traffic. The picture in the first four months of this year is different. For example, the increase in the number of traffic offences in the first four months of 2022 can most likely be explained by the increase in traffic activities after the relaxation of the coronavirus-related measures.
An increase in the number of detected minor traffic offences under the Wahv is visible, among other things, in the number of offences detected using number plate recognition: 2,294,041 in the first four months of this year, compared to 2,065,079 in the same period of last year. The number of traffic stops fell from 168,483 in the first four-month period of 2021 to 146,631 in the same period in 2022. This will partly be due to priority choices by the local authorities and capacity deployment decisions by the police. Fewer fines were also issued during the police unions' campaign for a new collective labour agreement and drivers tended to be issued with a warning more often when stopped.
Speeding is the most frequently detected traffic offence. In the first four months of this year, 1,981,082 fines were issued for exceeding the speed limit, compared to 1,815,021 in the same period last year. Most speeding offences are detected using number plate recognition.
In the first four months of 2022, 918,035 speeding offences were detected with the help of speed cameras, compared to 720,366 in the same period in 2021. The number of speeding offences detected with mobile radar equipment decreased from 495,976 in the first months of 2021 to 438,881 this year. The number of speeding offences detected by section control systems rose from 554,308 in the first four months of 2021 to 586,058 this year.
Foreign-based traffic offenders
The number of traffic offences detected involving vehicles with foreign number plates also increased in the first four months of 2022. The number of traffic fines issued under the Wahv to foreign-based traffic offenders rose from 167,139 in the first four months of 2021 to 227,642 in the same period this year.
* The four-monthly summary of traffic fines pursuant to the
Traffic Regulations (Administrative Enforcement) Act, also known as the Mulder Act, is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and Security, the police, the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) and the Public Prosecution Service (OM).