| PETER VAN DER KNAAP INTERVIEW
Leading the way
Peter van der Knaap of the Dutch Road Safety Research
Institute (SWOV) has saved lives with his pioneering approach to
road safety – but he admits there are new challenges ahead as
technology changes the transportation landscape forever
Words | Jack Roper
Annual Showcase 2020 | Intertraffic World 015
The Netherlands takes great pride
in its mobility achievements, so
when traffic professionals converge
on Amsterdam for Intertraffic 2020
Dr Peter van der Knaap, Director of the
Dutch Road Safety Research Institute
(SWOV), will be only too pleased to
show them around.
After all, Amsterdam has been
at the forefront of data-driven traffic
management while transforming itself
into a city of walkers and cyclists. It
became a focal point for co-operation in
harvesting the benefits of autonomous
vehicles (AVs) when EU ministers issued
the 2017 Declaration of Amsterdam.
“We’ve piloted many roadside and
app-based systems to guide motorists
around the city,” says van der Knaap.
“We try to be a test-friendly country
and the Road and Vehicle Admissions
Authorities work hard to ensure that
experiments can be carried out safely.”
Historically safe
Historically, Holland’s roads have ranked
among the world’s safest, but with fresh
challenges emerging the country cannot
rest on its laurels. Founded in 1962, SWOV
conducts research for both the Dutch
government and the EU.
“Our mission is to contribute to road
safety by providing scientific researchbased
insights,” he says. “We are
engineers, traffic psychologists and
statisticians. Twelve years ago, Holland
was semi-official champion of road
safety and we still have a good,
systematic approach.”
SWOV’s naturalistic driving studies,
which use cameras and sensors to analyze
driving behavior, have uncovered some
worrying recent trends, however.
“We found that Dutch drivers are
distracted by their phones for 10% of the
total driving time, and that truck drivers
don’t check their mirrors for bicycles on