| PETER VAN DER KNAAP INTERVIEW
Above: Road and
cycle-way design,
including simple
things like the right
markings, can help
save lives
Above: SWOV’s
research uses incar
cameras and
sensors to study
driving behavior
Annual Showcase 2020 | Intertraffic World 017
one-fifth of right turns,” he says. Of those killed
on Dutch roads in 2018, a third were cyclists. The
Netherlands has achieved a steady year-on-year
decrease in fatalities since 1972, when there were
more than 3,000 road deaths. Since 2013 this
decline has stagnated, however, and in 2018 there
were 678 deaths, the highest figure since 2010.
Why has safety stalled?
“The first reason for this stalling is success
itself,” says van der Knaap. “If something goes
well, why spend more money? The financial
crisis brought cut-backs in government spending
from 2008 onwards and with urgent new
priorities like climate change and terrorism,
road safety slipped down the agenda.”
Annual traffic volume increases of 1-2%
have incrementally added stress to the system,
and van der Knaap believes too much has been
expected of innovations such as self-driving
vehicles delivering a panacea for safety ills.
“Demographics also come into play,” he says.
“We have an ageing population and statistics
show many one-sided accidents, where people
simply fall off their bicycle or hit an object and
don’t survive. In fact, we should talk about
crashes. Accidents can’t be prevented, but
crashes can.”
Van der Knaap believes Holland must
persevere with its systematic approach while
moving from reactive to proactive interventions.
“It starts with more forgiving road
infrastructure, so that if someone makes
a mistake, they’re not punished by a fatal
injury,” he says. “We are proactive in separating
pedestrians and cyclists from
motorized traffic. We can also
be proactive in terms of risks
which stem from alcohol
and driving at speed.”
Vision Zero
Van der Knaap
acknowledges the
moral imperative of
Vision Zero and believes
SWOV’s research can
help to eliminate
preventable crashes.
“Sustainable road safety means investing in
proven, evidence-based solutions. We must learn
using data and feedback, and also investigate
various categories of crashes to prevent them
from happening instead of constantly
responding and fixing.”
The ubiquity of smartphones and social
media is transforming our social and
political psyche in ways we are only
beginning to understand – and not
always for the good. If Dutch
drivers are distracted 10%
of the time, how can this
new and potent danger
best be addressed?
“You need every
available measure, using
engineering, education and
enforcement,” he argues.
“You must see what
technology can do to detect
drowsiness or distraction using
eye-pattern recognition. The Dutch
police are looking at detecting people
on their phones using cameras and
algorithms. Setting social norms is important
and insurance companies have a role. If people
are not compensated for any crash they cause
by being distracted, that may get the message
across. Touchscreen entertainment systems
in newer cars also worry us. How can car
manufacturers be responsible in this regard?
You must do everything you can to tackle
this problem.”
Fresh solutions
As the well-established chairman of
the jury for the Intertraffic
Amsterdam Innovation Awards,
van der Knaap is looking
forward to seeing how the
newest and best solutions
on show at Amsterdam
2020 are shaping the
future of mobility.
“We’re getting more
crossovers such as smart
parking systems becoming
connected to navigation, or
1-2% The current average annual
traffic volume increase
in the Netherlands