Although the total number of road fatalities in the Netherlands has been steadily decreasing for years, the numbers of cyclists and pedestrians killed on the road remains the same.

News website Nu.nl examined over 45.000 traffic accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians between 2007 and 2012 with data from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment.

It found that while road deaths in general have dropped from 800 per year to 650, a drop of nearly 20 per cent, the numbers of cyclist and pedestrian deaths has stayed around 260 per year. 40 per cent of total fatalities.

On average, two people die in traffic accidents on Dutch roads every day.

Cyclist accidents

The data show that about 60 per cent of fatal bicycle accidents occur at a crossroads. Common causes for accidents include no priority being given, failure to grant passage and control errors.

Almost half of all cyclists who died in traffic accidents did so by colliding with a car. In pedestrian fatalities, that number is 58 per cent.

Only one of the 25 cases involving an accident between two cyclists leads to a fatal outcome.

The most fatal accidents involving cyclists happen in the afternoon between 3 and 4 pm on weekdays. The number of accidents and deaths falls over the weekend.

The largest number of cyclist and pedestrian deaths are 70-90 year-olds, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the total, with students between 10 and 19 years old coming next.