Rijkswaterstaat already warned in the evening not to go on the road, since about 150 incidents were already counted at that time, spokesman Debby van Slegtenhorst said. “These are many unilateral accidents, but also rear-end collisions. We advise anyone who has to go on the road to keep their distance and to keep a close eye out for connecting roads and exits.”
Meanwhile, the emergency services had their hands full, according to a police spokesman in Brabant. For example, the control room was busy on Sunday evening with dozens of calls about collisions. “We can’t drive everywhere,” he said. “Injury incidents are given priority.”
The Polderbaan at Schiphol was temporarily closed due to slipperiness and sprayed with an antifreeze fluid, Schiphol spokesman Stefan Donker said. “We are now looking at whether this spraying has the desired effect. We cannot sprinkle salt on the runway, that is bad for the planes.” Incoming flights had to divert to Zwanenburglaan.
In Zeeland, South Holland and Brabant, several roads were closed from 6 p.m. due to accidents. The A4, A15, A20 and A58, among others, were closed. Later, other provinces also had to believe it. Utrecht, for example. “We are busy with dozens of reports about collisions with material damage and/or injury on the A27, A28, A2 and A12 motorways in the province due to slipperiness. People don’t go on the road!” the police wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Rijkswaterstaat will continue to sprinkle salt as long as necessary. This is done in large quantities: a total of more than 3.5 million kilos of salt was distributed on Sunday. “But as soon as precipitation hits a road, you can actually start all over again,” says Van Slegtenhorst.
On the A12 near Bleiswijk, a truck even shot off the road into the ditch. The driver had to be freed by emergency services. He was approachable and was able to walk to the ambulance himself to be checked out.
A 26-year-old woman from that place was killed in a one-sided serious traffic accident on the N35 near Nijverdal in Overijssel. It is not clear whether the accident was due to the slipperiness. “Nothing can be said about the circumstances yet,” said the police, who have launched an investigation. A road death has also been reported in Belgium.
Despite the dangerous situation on the roads, the KNMI weather institute saw no reason to scale up the warning from code orange to code red on Sunday evening. “Then you talk about a socially disruptive situation. That is not the case now.” The KNMI has now lowered code orange for four provinces to code yellow.
Rijkswaterstaat estimated the number of incidents on motorways at around 150 around midnight on Sunday. The service could not immediately say whether ambulances and fire brigade also had problems reaching the accidents.
The Netherlands will have very mild weather next week. It will feel like autumn with temperatures around 9 degrees and Friday possibly 13 degrees. It also no longer freezes at night.
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