In ten years, never so many birthdays in Antwerp traffic as a certain year (Antwerp)
In Antwerp last year 1,136 routes were involved in a traffic accident. That is the highest figure in the past ten years. Almost half of the crashes happened to cyclists. Users of electric bicycles and together 36% of the injured get out. Twelve people died in Antwerp traffic in 2021.
This is evident from the road safety figures that will be presented tonight at the council committee of Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA). There were 6,216 accidents in Antwerp last year. More than in 2020, but less than in 2019. The effect of the corona measures in 2020 and 2021 is reflected in these figures. Working from home meant that fewer people were on the job.
2,351 people started in traffic last year, twelve people were killed. The dead were seven pedestrians, two electric scooter users, one rider, one passenger and one motorcycle. Among the two sisters in the Lange Leemstraat and the two pedestrians who died shortly after each other by a reversing truck on the Burgemeester Edgard Ryckaertsplein in Berchem.
The evolution in the number of cyclists who suffered from a traffic accident is striking. Cyclists are not the largest group of road casualties, the number seems to be continuing. 1,136 is the highest number in the past ten years. The number of cyclists among the injury crashes has risen to 48% of the total. That is more than in 2019.
In the road safety report there is a breakdown by type of bicycle or means of transport. The increase would not be related to the growth in the number of cyclists, but also to the number of road casualties among people who move with an electric scooter. For example, the number of traffic slaughter offers among users of electric bicycles and steps increased in 2021 compared to 2020 by an impacted 40% and 102%. Together they make up no less than 36% of the injuries among cyclists.
A new legislation must now adjust the safety around the use of scooters. For example, they are not allowed to be used in public domain by people under the age of 16, it is forbidden to stand on them with two and they are not allowed to be driven on the sidewalk. According to Mayor De Wever, this is a step in the right direction. “But the electric step remains unstable, focused on through the use of a use”,
Zone 30
There are also, for the first time, full-year figures on speeding cameras related to speeding in zones 30. From November 2020, cities and municipalities can be fined drivers through the Municipal Administration (GAS) system. However, this legislation has not yet been finalized and we have to wait for Flanders to adapt the scheme. Motorists who were flashed in zone 30 in Antwerp were therefore still subject to a classic fine.
Since the start of the flash, there was 3,616 evidence of speeding in a zone 30. The local police flashed 2,251 cars last year. The street where the cameras flashed the most cars was the Van Kerckhovenstraat in Antwerp with 650 speeding violations.
In the first three months of this year, there were 989 flashes in zones 30 compared to 681 in the same period last year. Due to the corona measures, it is difficult to draw results from these figures.
Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA): “The fact that there are more cyclists is also reflected in the accident figures”
The more the corona measures were phased out, the busier it became in Antwerp traffic again. According to Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA), this also translates into an increase in traffic accidents.
“The figures are still below those of 2019, but the return to normal life also means that more people are on the road again and that unfortunately also cause more accidents,” says De Wever. “The trends that we have seen over the years have strengthened during the corona period. Bicycle traffic continues to increase. That in itself is a good thing, but it brings the share of cyclists in the injury accidents to almost half.”
Moreover, there is also an evolution in bicycle use. Those cyclists among the injury crashes make less use of regular bicycles. That amount to 60% of the total among cyclists. Electric bicycles and steps take up a larger share. We see that on the street, and also in the accident figures,” says the mayor.
The mayor points out that Antwerp is fully committed to road safety through infrastructure, prevention, awareness raising and enforcement. For example, in the case of a reconstruction, cyclists are separated from car traffic as much as possible via a bicycle path. The number of kilometers of bicycle streets increased from 3.6 kilometers in 2018 to 18.7 kilometers last year. The number of school streets also increased from 14 in 2018 to 39 in 2019.