“There is just racing”, a resident of the Ringbaan-Oost in Tilburg responds. There someone died for the second time in three years on Wednesday afternoon after a car drove too hard on the road. The street cannot be found in the top 10 of the most dangerous roads in Tilburg, but that does not mean that little happens.
Residents of the street can still hear the roar in their living room. They are cars that flame the asphalt at a raging speed. “I see accidents and almost accidents here,” says a neighbor. According to her, motorists rarely stick to the speed: “While many cyclists cross. If you then have headphones on or don’t pay attention, it is incredibly dangerous.”
Resident Daniel saw the accident happen on Wednesday. He was on his way home, from his work, when he did not come to the front door. The road was closed, the street was blue with police, fire brigade and ambulances. “Then I saw how they put a sheet over the victim. You felt death hanging in the air. It was a very scary atmosphere.”
It seems like a household name in the street, that unheimic feeling. On The cross speed carda tool with which the most dangerous roads in the Netherlands are mapped, the street colors dark red. Between 2020 and 2024, 170 accidents happened, two of which were fatal. On the other hand, the street is not in the top 10 of the most dangerous roads Tilburg.
“The Ringbaan-Oost is not a specific pain point,” says Alderman Rik Grashoff. He has public space and mobility in his portfolio. “All ring courts have certain safety risks because of the many traffic that runs at high speed, along with crossing cyclists and pedestrians. Which does not alter the fact that it is terrible, what happened on Wednesday.”
And the municipality is trying to do something about the ring courts. For the Ringbaan-West, for example, the plan came to limit it from two to one track. Residents did not receive the plan enthusiastically: many Tilburgers mainly see traffic infarctions and delays, but according to the alderman it must provide more safety in particular: “Less traffic provides opportunities to improve road safety.”
So fewer cars on the road, but they also have to drive softer. A Flex flash post already offers a solution on some ring roads. “We see that the speed there is a general sense,” says Grashoff. Now the municipality wants the speed cameras to come. And on the Ringbaan-Zuid, the intention is to also reduce the maximum speed: from 70, to 50 kilometers per hour.
Enough plans in the tube to make it safer, but not specifically on the Ringbaan East. Then the accident figures can be better than expected, but that does not mitigate the impact of an accident such as Wednesday. Whether the driver was under the influence or not. “Even people who do not use drugs drive way too fast here. There is just more control,” concludes a neighbor.