Uneven distribution of rise in IM report numbers

Friday 13 April 2012
A73 Between 2007 and 2011, the number of IM reports rose by 67%. In some parts of the country, however, this growth was barely noticeable. This imbalance is revealed in an analysis undertaken by Stichting Incident Management Nederland into the development of all types of IM report per district in the period 2007 - 2011.

The fastest growth occurred in the Provinces of Limburg and Zeeland. In some work areas, pressure of work rose here by a factor of three to five. In district L362 around Roermond, the number of IM callouts in fact rose by ten times. The growth in numbers in this district and the rest of Limburg was partly due to the opening of the new A73 motorway in 2008 and the introduction of incident management on more than 500 kilometres of provincial roads in 2010.



Province

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007
Growth
2010-2011
Growth
2007-2011
Drenthe840887665647692(5%)21%
Flevoland902977871786772(8%)17%
Friesland1.1221.02096088079910%40%
Gelderland7.8457.5136.4326.0985.4514%44%
Groningen9909528608788254%20%
Limburg5.0023.8532.5512.2141.98130%152%
Noord-Brabant12.54611.0198.6397.1206.61314%90%
Noord-Holland14.33911.5859.9749.6809.26324%55%
Overijssel2.6112.8302.5202.3441.502(8%)74%
Utrecht5.6935.4155.0224.5394.1955%36%
Zeeland1.16395268253245922%153%
Zuid-Holland22.68320.38617.45715.76512.77811%78%
 
Nederland75.73667.38956.63351.48345.33012%67%


However, the growth in Limburg and Zeeland was mainly due to the huge increase in the number of breakdown movements. In both Provinces, callouts of this kind rose in numbers by a factor of six. In 2011, one in every two reports in these Provinces involved broken down vehicles that had to be removed on the instructions of the road manager. In 2007, this figure had only been one in six callouts. A similar rapid growth in the number of breakdown movements was also recorded in Noord-Brabant.

The situation in the northern Netherlands was completely different. In Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and Flevoland, the number of breakdown movements remained limited to one-third of the total number of reports. In Overijssel, however, the total number of reports did rise considerably. This was a consequence of the introduction of incident management on a large number of roads in the underlying road network in 2008. In the other four northern provinces, on the other hand, the number of IM reports over the past five years rose by only 25%. In 2011, there was in fact no growth whatsoever in this part of the country.

In nineteen districts, the number of reports in 2011 remained below the level recorded in 2007. In many cases this related to the construction of new, safer roads. The most spectacular example was the upgrading of the A2 motorway. Over large sections of this main traffic axis, the number of road traffic accidents reported to Stichting Incident Management Nederland fell by more than 40%. The fall was so considerable that in many districts, it outweighed the rise in the number of breakdown movements. This was the case in districts U207 (Abcoude), U210 (Breukelen), ZH179 (Everdingen) and GL 259 (Beesd). In the Noordoostpolder (FL104), the number of accidents fell sharply, too. In 2008 the Emmeloord Intersection was reconstructed at this location.

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