More is needed to reduce the number of fireworks victims. This is not only the opinion of mayors of large cities who call on the cabinet for new measures, but also experts. According to them, the current ‘crossing ban’ that is coming into force in more and more municipalities is not working.
“It is not a useful measure,” says Martijntje Bakker, director of VeiligheidNL, the knowledge center for injury prevention that conducts research into fireworks victims. According to Bakker, residents do not pay much attention to the ban, because the government is sending out ‘contradictory signals’. “You can buy fireworks but not set them off. And if you do it anyway, it will not be enforced – for understandable reasons. That is a strange combination of measures.”
According to Bakker, figures show that the cutting ban has little effect. “Hospitals in regions where a sampling ban applies have not become less busy since then.”
In 2020, the first municipalities decided on such a local cutting ban, including Rotterdam. It now applies in nineteen municipalities (out of 342). Due to the lack of national measures, “many more municipalities are guaranteed to follow with a local ban,” says the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG).
Not much to notice
In Utrecht, Alkmaar and Zutphen it was forbidden to let off fireworks for the first time this year. All three municipalities stated that there was little noticeable difference. A 14-year-old boy died in a fireworks accident in Rotterdam. In Utrecht there were fewer victims than in previous years, but the injuries were more severe, reports UMC Utrecht.
“We did not expect in advance that nothing would be set off,” says the spokesperson for Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma. “The ban was mainly intended to get the conversation going.”
Not only the hospitals, but also the fire brigade were busy last New Year. For example, there were a remarkable number of car fires, 270 in total, according to figures from the Dutch Institute of Public Safety (NIPV).
Corona pandemic
According to Bakker, it makes more sense to provide children with better information. “Last year we saw a substantial increase among victims between the ages of 12 and 15. They could provide you with much more information about the risks of heavy fireworks.”
To really reduce the number of victims, more drastic measures are needed, says Bakker. She refers to the sharp drop in victims during the corona pandemic. “Then there was a ban not only in the Netherlands but also in surrounding countries. In the second year of corona, there was no ban in surrounding countries, and the number of victims immediately doubled again. So in fact, a ban is only really effective if you make European agreements about it.”
That doesn’t seem to be happening for a while. Coalition parties PVV, BBB, VVD and NSC do not want a ban, Prime Minister Schoof said before the New Year.
Until then, municipalities continue to hope that they can bring about a ‘change in behavior’ through local bans. Zutphen’s spokesperson draws a comparison with the introduction of the smoking ban. “At a certain point, that was no longer allowed. In the beginning no one adhered to it, and now it is strange when someone lights a cigarette in the pub. We hope it will be the same with fireworks.”
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