More than six in ten accidents occur within a radius of one kilometer from an entrance or exit. This makes the chance of an accident more than three times higher in the vicinity of a driveway or exit. Univé concludes this after analyzing over 75.000 registered motorway accidents that occurred in the Netherlands between 2016 and 2018.
Major regional differences
The analysis shows that the differences per region being big. The percentage of accidents near an entrance or exit was the highest in Groningen in 2018. Here, 72,3 percent of accidents were registered near an entrance or exit. This percentage was lowest in Zeeland (33,3 percent).
In absolute terms, however, the province of South Holland is a frontrunner with accidents near an entrance or exit. In 2018 there were more than 5.600, while in Zeeland there were only 174 times an accident caused near an entrance or exit.
Less common fatal accidents
The proportion of fatal accidents at entrances and exits is 34 percent lower than on sections of highway without in or out traffic. The difference is considerably smaller in the number of accidents with injuries; that is only two percent lower near an entrance or exit than on other stretches of highway.
Accidents at ramps or exits do not seem to be specifically caused by commuting or freight traffic. During the week, the share of accidents at ramps and exits is only slightly higher (+0,5 percent) than at the weekend.
Most accidents on A10
The past year happened most accidents at exits Amsterdam-Osdorp (A10), Amsterdam-Tuindorp (A10) and Rotterdam-Crooswijk (A20).
The A10 is in any case a road where many accidents occur. In proportion, most accidents occurred on the A2018 in 10 (41,8 accidents per kilometer of highway). The risk of an accident is also relatively high on the A20 (22,7 accidents per km) and the A16 (18,1). On the A77, from Boxmeer to the German border, the risk of an accident is smallest, with 0,4 accidents per kilometer of highway.
Prevention of damage
According to Etienne de Cooker, director of Univé Schade, the insights are particularly valuable for Univé's non-life branch.
“Knowledge about the occurrence of damage is essential. Univé manages a large volume of car insurance. By helping members prevent and limit damage, we manage to keep it affordable. ”
Traffic safety a priority
The Cooker calls contributing to road safety one of Univé's priorities.
It is not without reason that we are ambassador of the traffic campaign Together in Drenthe towards Zero traffic victims. And our national action day Univé Helps this year was all about raising awareness of traffic risks such as the e-bike, smartphone use in traffic and freshening up traffic knowledge. In addition, we support programs for younger drivers to improve their driving skills and safety awareness, and we continue to set up activities at local level to optimize traffic knowledge and behavior of road users. ”
Research justification: for this analysis, the National Register of Accidents in the Netherlands (BRON) of Rijkswaterstaat of the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 was used. The analysis includes all accidents on A-roads in the Netherlands during these years, of which the hectometre location is known. The information about the locations of accidents has been combined with road section information (including entry and exit locations) from the Road Traffic Service (RWD). Accidents within a radius of 1 kilometer from an entrance or exit have been selected for this analysis as 'related to entrance or exit.'
