Motorists run the greatest risk of damage in the province of Utrecht. The chance that your car will become the target of burglary, vandalism or theft is about 30 percent greater here than elsewhere in the Netherlands. More drunk drivers are also driving in the province of Utrecht.
Zeeland motorists have it better: the risk of something happening to the car in Zeeland is just a quarter lower than average. This is apparent from Independer’s Car Risk Meter, which calculates the risk of car damage based on data from Statistics Netherlands, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), and the National Police.
The risk is determined on the basis of all registered car burglaries, car thefts, traffic accidents within built-up areas, cases of car vandalism and the drunk drivers caught in 2020. These numbers are weighed against the registered passenger cars per municipality and province.
Utrecht most unsafe city for cars
Utrecht appears to be the most unsafe province in terms of the risk of car damage. In North Brabant (+17.6 percent) and North Holland (+15.1 percent) residents also have a high risk of car damage. The city of Utrecht also appears to be relatively unsafe for motorists. In no other municipality is the risk of car damage as great as in the Dom city (+80.9 percent).
According to Jochem Hoogenboom of the municipality of Utrecht, car burglary in particular has been a major problem in Utrecht for years. “It’s hard to say why that is. We see that the number of car break-ins is falling the fastest in Utrecht, but is still relatively higher than in the other four major cities. Theft of car parts by organized criminal groups is a trend. Auto parts are stolen on order, preferably at locations close to the highway.”
Since 2016, the municipality of Utrecht has adopted an integrated approach to reducing car squatting. More supervision, physical measures to prevent theft and strengthening of the investigation in cooperation with the police should further reduce the number of car break-ins. “We provide extra attention at hotspots,” says Hoogenboom. “Parking garages are often places where a lot of car burglaries take place. We keep an eye on the figures at neighborhood level in consultation with the police and adjust if there is a noticeable trend.”
A quarter of all reports in South Holland
Not only Utrecht is doing badly. Your car is least safely parked in the province of South Holland, according to the Car Risk Meter. About 7900 cases of car vandalism were registered in that province, which amounts to about a quarter of all reports in the whole of the Netherlands. Borsele in Zeeland comes out as the safest municipality. The chance of car damage here is 73.8 percent lower than elsewhere in the Netherlands. In Veere (-70.5 percent) and Tholen (-70 percent) motorists also run a much lower risk of, among other things, car burglaries, theft and vandalism.
Utrecht, Zandvoort and Ouder-Amstel most unsafe municipalities
“This information is very important for your car insurance,” says Menno Dijcks, car insurance expert at comparison site Independer. If there is an increased risk of damage or burglary in your municipality, you can consider taking out liability insurance + or all-risk car insurance. Then you get all or most of that damage back from the insurance,” says Dijcks. Dijcks also advises not to always claim minor damages from your insurer. It is often cheaper to pay for it yourself. You do not fall back into claim-free years and that prevents you from paying a higher premium in the long term.”
Top 5 municipalities with the most risk of damage to cars:
Utrecht, Utrecht (+80.9 percent)
Zandvoort, North Holland (+66.1 percent)
Ouder-Amstel, North Holland (+63 percent)
Eindhoven, North Brabant (+62.2 percent)
Bunnik and Stichtse Vecht, Utrecht (+56.5 percent)
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