The European speed marathon has kicked off this week and the Netherlands is expected to take part again. The peak of the speed week will take place on Wednesday, April 9, with Dutch police placing extra speed cameras throughout the country.
From April 7 to 13, the first speed week of the year is taking place across Europe. At the peak of the operation is the 24-hour speed camera marathon that is set to take place on Wednesday.
During this day, thousands of Dutch police officers will be deployed across the Netherlands to enforce speed limits among drivers. More speed cameras will be placed on Dutch roads and police will also be stationed at strategic points to catch speeding drivers.
According to AD, the speed operation in August 2024 saw 23.000 traffic fines issued in the Netherlands for speeding and 156 driving licences were confiscated for driving more than 50 kilometres per hour over the speed limit. The goal is not to punish drivers but to draw attention to speeding behaviour and road safety, to ultimately reduce the number of road victims.
Roadpol, a network of European traffic police forces, is the organisation behind the “flash marathon”. Of the 29 countries that are part of Roadpol, including the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, more than half participate in the speed check campaign.
According to a spokesperson, of the 25.000 fatal road accidents that occur in Europe each year, most of them are caused by speeding while driving. Previous editions of the speed operation, with over 100.000 fines issued across Europe, proved successful in reducing the number of road victims by 25 percent.
The next edition of speed week is set to take place from August 4 to 10 this year.
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