Once again, a cyclist was injured in an accident on one of the roundabouts of the Aalsmeer Burgemeester Kasteleinweg. A research agency concluded last month that the rules on roundabouts are so unclear that accidents are a logical consequence.
The accident happened yesterday afternoon around 1.30 pm on the roundabout of the Burgemeester Kasteleinweg and the Dorpsstraat. It is not known exactly what happened, but it is likely that the cyclist – on an electric bicycle – was hit by a car.
While waiting for the emergency services, a witness took care of the victim and provided first aid. It is said to be a woman who works in an adjacent office building.
Witnesses say that the victim was taken to hospital by ambulance after receiving medical treatment at the scene. Nothing is known about the seriousness of the injuries.
Research agency DTV concluded last month after research that the rules on the five new roundabouts of the redesigned Burgemeester Kasteleinweg are so vague that accidents are a logical consequence.
Since the reopening of the roundabouts, spread over 2021, several people have already been injured. NH News spoke last week with Edwin Zeilstra, who was driven off his bicycle by an accelerating van on the Van Cleefkade roundabout last May.
“Right then that van pulled up and hit the back of my bike”
“When I wanted to turn left onto the roundabout from Oosteinderweg (allowed at that point, ed.), I saw a van standing still. But that van pulled up right then and hit the back of my bicycle.”
Risks
In the accident on the ‘cluttered’ roundabout, Edwin lands hard on his shoulder, breaks his leg and a tooth. More than half a year later, he still suffers from his shoulder. Despite the injury, he gets on his bike every morning, ‘because I don’t have a car’, and he doesn’t avoid the ‘cluttered’ roundabout. “But I’m extra careful now.”
Accidents since refurbishment
The exact number of accidents on the redesigned Burgemeester Kasteleinweg has not been recorded. It is also not clear whether there are more accidents on the route than before the refurbishment. However, DTV has registered an accident and several near-collision on its camera images of the roundabouts.
Like the researchers, Zeilstra emphasizes that cyclists and motorists on the roundabout have to assess many different situations in a short period of time and therefore run the risk of missing a red light. “Then as a cyclist you have just seen that you have been given priority by a car, and you have to pay attention to the red light for the bus lane again”
No or too late priority
Apart from the risk of the bus lane across the roundabout, DTV is critical of the priority situation of cyclists over cars. The researchers write that, especially on the roundabouts of Dorpsstraat and Van Cleefkade, motorists regularly do not give priority to cyclists and pedestrians or do so too late.