He always goes to work cycling. On one of the five bicycles in his barn. And the choice is huge; From mountain bike to city or racing bike. “But be convinced that I know what it is like to be in a traffic jam,” almost to say the 65-year-old Broekhuis. “I left a youth trauma on that. On vacation I went on holiday as a child in the construction trade and we were almost in line from the border at Elten to Munich. And that was certainly no fun without air conditioning. No, today that no longer happens. I know better when you have to go on the road or not.”
“When I just started there were few daily traffic jams. Occasionally a congestion due to an incident. But the pressure on the road was not too bad in 1981. I remember that during my first broadcast I only had to report four traffic jams,” continues the ‘mobilologist’. “Every day the same row came back, such as the congestion at the Coentunnel in Amsterdam or at Rotterdam and the bridge at Vianen. This was due to the growth centers such as Heerhugowaard, Hoorn, Purmerend, Hoogvliet, Spijkenisse, which suddenly brought much more commuting on the road. The problem was that the same Empire was not adapted again. did not improve. “
Railway crossing on the A2
“Oh well I have seen it all change. I come from the time that there were few highways and there was still a railway crossing on the A2. And I saw the fleet of 4.2 million vehicles grow in 1980 to about 9.2 million now. And if there are too much on the road at the same time, the asphalt is not so honest. So is not nearly finished with the traffic jams. “
Row of 92 kilometers of cars
While he takes a sip of his coffee, Broekhuis looks back in time. “You know that the first traffic jam was there on 29 May 1955. That was at the Oudenrijn junction (A12-A2), because when whole hordes of Germans went to the beach. The traffic jams that were most reminded me that of November 25, 2005. It was a day in which it was storming violently in the east. Motorists who were stuck on the A2 from Den Bosch to Amsterdam stood still in a row of 92 kilometers, “remembers the 65-year-old Broekhuis.
“But it was also elaborate elsewhere then, because trucks slipped away on the entrances and exits. At that time there were people stuck for 9 hours and the army had to provide stranded travelers with water and food. Really exceptional and I believe that I only closed the door behind me that next morning to cycle home.”
The young Arnoud Broekhuis reads the traffic jams. © ANWB
The traffic information became more important when the roads became overcrowded in the mid -90s and the need for reliable reports exploded. Broekhuis: “From then on, the ANWB did all the traffic bulletins on Radio 1, 2, 3FM and the commercial stations. No endless list of traffic jams, but only the most striking bottlenecks and practical tips for road user. And we also had the opportunity to break into a broadcast to warn that I was still a program. DJ Ruud de Wild was in conversation and he suddenly asked me about my salary and sex life. “
But Broekhuis’ vision went beyond the radio. He embraced new technologies such as RDS/TMC, which sent traffic jams directly to navigation systems. Together with Rijkswaterstaat, he built a network of traffic data, fed by loops in the road surface, road guards, road inspectors and other mobile informants.
“Looking back, I just had the most beautiful job in the world. The ANWB on the road is simply indispensable on our help via the Road Guard, traffic information and commitment to affordable mobility and road safety. Glad I could contribute to that.”
There were times when you could just continue on the Dutch roads. © ANWB
Relaxed from whining
“But,” concludes the File Specialist, “I also like to join the words of Karla Peijs, Oud Minster of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, and previously Federal President of the ANWB Supervisory Board, who says:” Files are part of it and the positive thing is that you have been relieved of the whining of home and your boss, “