The severity of traffic jams in Brabant has increased by no less than 36 percent in the past six months compared to the same period in the pre-corona year 2019. The ANWB announced this on Saturday morning. The ANWB calls this increase ‘remarkable’. Nationally, congestion increased by 15 percent.
Based on the daily monitoring of traffic flow on Dutch roads, the ANWB Traffic Information concludes that the effect of working from home and traveling outside rush hours is now barely visible, if at all. According to a spokesperson, the daily traffic jams returned immediately after the last corona measures were withdrawn at the end of March last year.
Increase in the number of motor vehicles
Both during peak hours and during the day, the severity of traffic jams – the length of the traffic jam multiplied by the delay – increased sharply in the past six months. The number of traffic jams rose nationally during the morning rush hour by thirteen percent and in the evening rush hour by nine percent.
Statistics Netherlands figures show that the number of motor vehicles in our country has increased by about 500,000 since 2019. According to the ANWB, this explains, among other things, the sharp increase (40 percent) in the number of traffic jams during the day.
Traffic jams in more and more regions
The figures for all A and N roads show that the traffic jam problem is occurring in more and more regions.
The A27 from Utrecht towards Breda, between Lexmond and Werkendam, takes first place in the top ten traffic jams of 2023. In 2019, this road was still in second place in the traffic jam top ten. That second place is now occupied by the A27 from Breda to Utrecht, between Geertruidenberg and Gorinchem.
In third place, just like four years ago, we find the A58 from Breda towards Eindhoven, between Moergestel and Oirschot.
Morning and evening rush hour
The A27 from Breda towards Utrecht, between Geertruidenberg and Gorinchem, ranks first in the top ten of morning rush hour traffic jams. In 2019, this road was still in fourth place in this list. The A2 from Den Bosch in the direction of Utrecht, between the Empel and Kerkdriel junction, is in third place.
The traffic jam top ten during the evening rush hour is also led by the A27 from Utrecht towards Breda, but then the stretch between Lexmond and Werkendam stands out. We ‘only’ find the A27 between Geertruidenberg and Gorinchem in seventh place here.
You can find the full lists here.