Dutch police issued far fewer traffic tickets in 2024 than in 2023: drivers received about half a million fewer citations in 2024 than the year before, according to numbers recently released by the Dutch government. There were around 7.9 million traffic violations in 2024, while this number topped out at close to 8.5 million in 2023. While the number of tickets issued decreased in 2024, the total amount collected in fines was higher in 2024 than in 2023. Last year, drivers received approximately 832 million euro in fines.
There were a few general areas of improvement last year — fewer tickets were issued for running through red lights, speeding, driving while holding a phone, and moped riding without a helmet.
Driving too fast was the most frequently cited violation in 2024 — close to 6 million citations were issued for this, although fewer speeding tickets were issued to drivers last year than in 2023. Driving too fast in residential areas was a popular activity last year: at least 20,000 drivers were fined for it, while just 44 such tickets were issued in 2023, according to numbers published in AD newspaper. Speeding in residential areas was responsible for close to €10,000 in fines in 2023 and €2.3 million in 2024. While the vast majority of speeders were clocked going somewhere between four and ten kilometres per hour over the speed limit, there were around 500 or so individuals who were caught zipping along at more than 20 kilometres per hour faster than permitted, including a few who managed to really put their pedals to the metal and hit speeds in excess of 30 kilometres per hour over the limit.
The highest amount in fines was collected from red light violations. Red light runners received around €61 million worth of fines in 2024. Although traffic light violations were responsible for the largest subset of fines, the actual number of red light runners dropped. There were approximately 215,000 red light violations in 2024 and around 233,500 in 2023.
Drivers caught texting or talking with their phones in their hands paid around €55.6 million in fines last year. The actual number of tickets issued for this dropped in 2024. Last year, over 165,000 fines were issued for driving while holding a phone or texting; that number was approximately 199,000 in 2023. Dutch police plan to intensify enforcement of the no handhelds while driving rule in 2025.
Fewer people were caught on mopeds without a helmet in 2024 than in 2023. In 2024, the police fined helmetless moped riders around 39,000 times, while about half as many tickets for helmetless writing were issued in 2024 than the year before. Bicycle riders also joined in the safety trend: there were around 34,000 citation for cycling without lights in 2024, while there were close to 48,000 such situations in 2023.
While there were several areas of improvement in 2024, there were a few areas where things went the opposite way. The police cited more than 45,000 scooter riders for zipping along on bicycle paths, meaning that approximately 6000 more tickets were issued for this in 2024 than in 2023. Drivers were also far more likely to get caught driving in areas designated car-free in 2024 than in 2023. There were at least 300,000 incidents of drivers motoring through car-free zones last year, a sharp rise from the 147,000 citations for this issued in 2023.
Several factors contributed to the drop in traffic tickets, including traffic camera maintenance, increased police focus on serious traffic violations, as well as police strikes during the year.
Written by Lorre Luther