News item | 31-03-2022 | 12:00
8,024,118 traffic violations were detected in 2021 under the Administrative Law Enforcement Traffic Regulations Act (Wahv). That is more than a year earlier, when 7,779,461 traffic fines were imposed, including for speeding, running a red light and using handheld devices. The number of fines for the latter violation has also increased due to the use of new enforcement measures. The increase in the number of traffic fines in 2021 compared to 2020 is apparent from the annual overview Wahv 2021*. This increase will partly be due to the fact that more people have taken to the road compared to 2020. In that year, the government called for the first time to stay at home as much as possible because of corona.
The increase in the number of traffic fines is mainly attributable to more traffic violations detected on the basis of the Wahv: 7,524,743 in 2021, compared to 7,223,157 a year earlier. The number of traffic fines after a stop has, on the other hand, decreased from 556,304 in 2020 to 499,375 in 2021. Because a lot of police deployment was required during corona and other developments in society, the police needed time to recover. This may explain the decrease in the number of standing postures.
Speeding violations
Most traffic fines were imposed for speeding: 6,641,936. A year earlier there were 6,364,857. The majority of these traffic violations are detected by means of license plate enforcement. In 2020, 2,803,661 speeding fines were imposed after being checked with a speed camera, in 2021 there were 2,830,213. 1,509,650 speeding violations with mobile radar sets were also detected, compared to 1,476,304 a year earlier.
An increase can be seen in the number of speeding violations detected with section control systems. In total, the number of speed violations detected during section checks has increased from 1,963,918 in 2020 to 2,103,772 in 2021. One explanation for this is that section checks on N-roads were turned on in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, that was not yet the case everywhere throughout the year.
The average fine for a traffic violation last year was €81.15 and for a specific speeding violation it was €63.60. In 2020 this was €81.38 and €64.19 respectively.
Foreign traffic offenders
In 2021, 784,421 of the traffic fines imposed were fines imposed on a driver of a vehicle with a foreign registration number, compared to 870,695 a year earlier. This decrease can probably be explained by less travel across the border due to the corona pandemic and the lockdowns in our country and, for example, in Belgium and Germany. In addition, fewer Britons have been fined. This decline due to Brexit will continue. As of January 31, 2020, the Cross Border Enforcement Directive no longer applies to the British.
* The overview of the traffic fines under the Administrative Law Enforcement Traffic Regulations Act (Wahv), or Mulder Act, is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and Security, the National Police, the CJIB and the Public Prosecution Service (OM).