The Netherlands is experiencing the busiest morning rush hour in years on Wednesday. Despite the appeal that Rijkswaterstaat made on Tuesday to work from home as much as possible, around 8.45 am there were already 704 kilometers of traffic jams on the major roads. This makes it the second busiest Wednesday morning rush hour since 1999. “We see traffic jams increasing rapidly,” writes Rijkswaterstaat“especially in the provinces where the snow has already fallen.”
The traffic jams are not so much caused by the number of cars, but mainly by the winter conditions. A thick layer of fresh snow has already fallen in South Holland and the wind is blowing hard. Other parts of the country are also in trouble. “The roads turn white, so take dangerous driving conditions into account,” warns Rijkswaterstaat.
An ANWB spokeswoman gave one NRC-reporter gave some tips on Tuesday about safe driving in the snow: keep extra distance, halve your speed and calculate extra travel time, so you don’t have to rush. It is also important to ensure that your car is “completely free of snow and ice”, a warm coat, some food and drinks and a charged telephone. “So you can call roadside assistance if you have a breakdown.”
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