Majority support 30km/h speed limit in Dutch cities, survey finds

According to a recent survey conducted by Safe Traffic Netherlands (VVN), two-thirds of road users in the Netherlands say they are willing to comply with a lower speed limit in built-up areas. The VVN is looking to reduce the speed limit in residential areas and cities from 50 to 30 kilometres an hour. 

VVN survey finds most drivers support a 30km / h speed limit

According to VVN - an organisation monitoring road safety in the Netherlands - 68 percent of their survey respondents said they were prepared to adhere to reduced speed limits in built-up areas in an effort to improve road safety.

As part of the same survey, VVN found that 66 percent of respondents admitted they felt that other motorists often drive too fast in Dutch towns and cities. The research found that vans and delivery scooters were generally regarded as the main culprits. 

54 percent of those taking part in the survey, therefore, agreed that lowering the speed limit from 50 kilometres an hour to 30 kilometres an hour would make built-up areas safer for road users and local residents. 

Amsterdam setting 30km / h speed limit on 80 percent of roads

The survey was carried out as part of VVN’s campaign for authorities to enforce a reduced speed limit on certain roads: “VVN calls on municipalities to speed up the introduction of the speed standard from 50 kilometres an hour to 30 kilometres an hour,” the organisation writes on its website. 

Some steps have already been taken to improve road safety and reduce noise pollution. In Amsterdam, for example, the municipality has announced that from December of this year, the speed limit on 80 percent of roads in the Dutch capital will be set at 30 kilometres per hour.

Thumb: Martin Bergsma via Shutterstock.com.