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More accidents on re-profiled A4 at Leiden
Tuesday 14 June 2016
The number of accidents on the A4 at Leiden rose significantly in 2015. Bergingscentrale Bollenstreek, the local contracted incident-management recovery service, dealt with 135 accidents last year between Leiderdorp and Zoeterwoude. This is a 30% rise on 2014, and almost 35% up on 2013. The stretch of motorway in question has been completely reconstructed in the past few years, and was fully opened in October 2014.
Recovery on the A4 at driver location sign Li 32.1 on 15 April 2016, carried out by Vreugdenhil Berging (photo K. Jonge)
Most accidents occurred on the west-bound carriageway, carrying traffic in the direction of The Hague, between the driver location signs at 32.0 and 33.9 km. There were 54 collisions here last year, three times as many as in 2014. This section of motorway runs through an underpass. At the end of this section is the exit to the N11 and the newly constructed A4 access road. Just after this exit, the number of lanes on the main carriageway narrows from three to two.
This narrowing of the road means that there is often congestion at the end of the underpass, adjacent to the exit. The combination of road-narrowing, underpass and exit makes drivers perform manoeuvres at that point that do not always end successfully.
Accidents on the A4 between Leiderdorp and Zoeterwoude, 2010 - 2015
| A4 Left (east carriageway) | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4Li - 31,0 - 31,9 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| 4Li - 32,0 - 32,9 | 4 | 16 | 14 |
| 4Li - 33,0 - 33,9 | 12 | 8 | 8 |
| 4Li - 34,0 - 34,9 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
| 4Li - 35,0 - 35,9 | 28 | 13 | 14 |
| 4Li - 36,0 - 36,9 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Total east carriageway | 67 | 65 | 52 |
| A4 Rechts (west carriageway) | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4Re - 31,0 - 31,9 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 4Re - 32,0 - 32,9 | 4 | 10 | 27 |
| 4Re - 33,0 - 33,9 | 7 | 8 | 27 |
| 4Re - 34,0 - 34,9 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 4Re - 35,0 - 35,9 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 4Re - 36,0 - 36,9 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Total west carriageway | 32 | 39 | 83 |
| Total | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 99 | 104 | 135 |
On the other carriageway of the A4, for traffic heading towards Amsterdam, the number of accidents dropped in 2015, at the exit for Zoeterwoude Dorp in particular. Between the driver location signs at 34.0 and 35.9 km, the incident management recovery service was called upon on 22 occasions. In 2010, before the current upgrading of the road, that number was 47.