Last year, sixteen cars of road inspectors from Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) were hit. Five and four more accidents occurred in 2023 and 2022 respectively. RWS is “seriously concerned” about the increase in the number of collisions with road inspectors and calls on people to drive with concentration and not be distracted. According to RWS, the figures underline the need for extra attention on the road. A “common thread is missing” in the collisions, a spokesperson explains. RWS has done a lot to improve safety. For example, a lot of attention is paid to this in the training for road inspectors and the lamps on matrix signs have been adjusted. “It is always a matter of finding the balance between safety and the extent to which the measures are distracting,” said the spokesperson. According to her, the increase in the number of accidents is due to inattention. “I hear from road inspectors that people are having meetings behind the wheel, texting and eating tubs of cottage cheese.” “Every incident not only causes material damage, but also has a huge impact on colleagues, emergency services and recovery workers on site. We take safety very seriously and We continuously look at where the work can be done even more safely,” says director of road traffic management Robert-Jaap Voorn.
Source: www.autoweek.nl
