‘The driver is stubborn. That is why we are going to intensify our approach [verkeer] safer,” says national traffic officer Achilles Damen The Telegraph. Because motorists continue to pay fines, there are many more flexible speed cameras in the Netherlands. Now there are 28 mobile speed cameras. This should be 125.
In the Netherlands we have 650 fixed speed cameras that check speed or drive through red lights. Then you have the well-known mobile checkpoints that are located along the highway for a few hours. And since last year there has been the flex flash. These speed cameras are placed in one place for a period of a few weeks or a few months. They are then moved to the next location.
In addition to the mobile speed cameras, fifty focus flash units will be added. These are cameras aimed at catching drivers with a phone in their hand. These poles must rotate locations every two months. Justice also wants to use these cameras to catch motorists who place their phone on their lap while driving. For the time being, the technology is not that advanced yet, but according to Damen, the telephone also causes distraction in this way.
The flexible flash units are not there to fill the public purse
Damen talks about a test on the A1 that the police recently conducted. In a few months, the police issued 90,000 fines on this highway, worth a total of 5 million euros. After the rain of fines, the number of offenders dropped by 66 percent. According to Damen, the decline is especially important. The tons of money that comes in thanks to the flexible speed cameras in the Netherlands is a side issue for him.
‘We are purely concerned with making things safer and fines apparently work well. It is popularly said that speed cameras and section checks are a cash cow for the government, but if everyone adheres to the rules, that doesn’t make sense,’ says Damen. His core message is: ‘Make sure you all get home safely.’
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