The number of traffic jams on Dutch roads has increased. Motorists even stopped more often in the first quarter of 2023 than before the corona pandemic. Compared to the same period in 2019, the number of traffic jams increased by ten percent, concludes the ANWB Traffic Information based on file numbers.
Traffic pressure has increased sharply after most corona measures were abolished in March 2022, the traffic organization sees. “It will have to do [met] that we have all slowly returned to the office, but at the same time we also see that working from home is still happening,” says Arnoud Broekhuis of ANWB Traffic Information in the press release. According to him, another important cause is that the number of cars has increased: Statistics Netherlands (CBS) recently calculated that there are now about 8.9 million passenger cars being in the Netherlands. Freight traffic is added to that. According to Broekhuis, it is clear that this “has consequences for the flow”.
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He expects the trend to continue. “Nothing indicates that it will become less busy. Even during the day it is sometimes already joining the queue.” The busiest provinces are South Holland and North Brabant. The ANWB looks at the traffic congestion: the length of a congestion multiplied by its duration. Most traffic jams are on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it only gets busier on those days. The busyness during the Friday morning rush hour has decreased considerably: by 30 percent, compared to 2019.
Most traffic jams are on the A12 from the German border towards Arnhem near Duiven during the morning rush hour. The traffic jams there have grown “remarkably”, says the ANWB, by 50 percent. After working hours, traffic jams are heaviest on the A27 from Utrecht to Breda near Noordeloos.