A pilot with camera enforcement has proven successful. 17 cameras in Amsterdam check if mopeds are driving on roadways instead of bicycle paths. There is a decrease in violations at the locations where the municipality is using camera’s to enforce the rules. There are also fewer accidents with mopeds.
Since april 2019, drivers of mopeds (with blue license plates with a maximum speed of 25 km/h) have to move from bicycle paths to roadways and wear a helmet, to make city traffic safer. The number of road users on bicycle paths was too large, as well as the speed differences.
The municipality started digital enforcement with camera’s in November 2021. Fixed and movable camera’s keep an eye out on mopeds (shared mopeds as well) on bicycle paths. Mopeds that violate the rules are automatically registered by the camera’s and will be fined. 19.000 fines had already been issued by the end of April 2022. By using fixed as well as movable cameras in the city, enforcement can be executed efficiently. The locations of the cameras have been selected on the basis of complaints and nuisance. Camera enforcement is an addition to enforcement by agents on the street; they issue about a hundred fines each month.
The pilot is still ongoing but so far the results are positive, is the conclusion of a mid-term evaluation. There is a decrease in the number of offenses at the locations with camera enforcement. Camera enforcement leads to a change in behavior, and consequently to safer bicycle paths. But the rules are not being followed well everywhere. The percentage of moped users who follow the rules varies between 74 and 92 percent, this is an increase since last year. Last summer that number was between 53 and 82 percent. In 2020 it was approximately 80 percent.
The number of accidents that involve mopeds (with a maximum speed of 25 km/h) has dropped considerably: from 154 in 2017 to 25 in 2021. Side note: due to the corona rules there were fewer moped rides in the city. The number of accidents that involve mopeds (with a maximum speed above 25 km/h) has dropped as well but less significantly. However the number of these vehicles in the city has grown considerably.
At the end of 2022, the municipality will review the results and decide in what way camera enforcement will be continued in Amsterdam. The municipality is also considering the possibility of moving mopeds with a blue license plate to the roadway at more locations. On 1 January 2023, safety helmets will be obligatory in the Netherlands for all mopeds. The possibilities for digital enforcement of helmet obligation are still being investigated.
I Photo: Edwin van Eis
