The speed camera is more lucrative than ever, figures show
Number of traffic violations in 2022
In 2022, 8,153,043 traffic violations were recorded under the Administrative Enforcement of Traffic Regulations Act (WAHV), figures from the central government show. Yes, that’s more than a year earlier. In 2021, 8,024,118 traffic fines* were imposed. That’s an increase of 1.6 percent. The fines were imposed for speeding, running a red light and handheld calling, among others.
Faulty parking/stopping
In addition to these three violations, there was also a sharp increase in fines imposed for the category of wrong parking/staying. That’s nearly 60,000 more than in the previous year. One possible explanation could be that after the corona crisis, parking in city centers increased again as stores were open again.
Phone use on bicycles
There is also a notable increase in the figures for phone use on bicycles: 53,259 in 2022, up from 45,778 a year earlier. That is an increase of 16.3 percent.
Speeding
Most traffic fines are imposed for speeding. Of the total number of fines imposed 8,153,043 were 6,512,086 for violating the speed limit. That is a difference of 129,850 from the previous year. Back then, the number was 6,641,936. Most of these traffic violations are detected with license plate enforcement. As many as 1,340,692 speeding violations were detected with mobile radar sets, compared to 1,509,650 a year earlier.
Trajectory control systems less lucrative
There is a decrease in the number of speeding violations with section control systems. At the route controls, the total number of speeding violations detected decreased from 2,103,772 to 2,026,939 in 2022. That is a decrease of 3.7 percent. Possible explanations for this are the outage of some route control systems due to road works and the congestion on the highways forcing motorists to adjust their speed.
Flexflash
In November 2022, a new enforcement tool came into use: the flex flash. A movable speed camera that stays in one spot for about two months. By 2022, the first 10 flex flash units were installed. The number of violations per flex speed camera is listed separately in the overview of violations per speed camera.
Average fine amount
The average fine amount for a traffic violation in 2022 was 84.16 euros and for a speeding violation specifically was 62.88 euros. In 2021, it was 81.15 euros and 63.60 euros, respectively.
Foreign traffic offenders
In 2022, 874,539 of the traffic fines imposed were imposed on a driver of a vehicle with a foreign license plate, compared to 784,421 a year earlier. This is a significant increase and probably explained by more people revisiting our country after the corona crisis. Most traffic fines were imposed on vehicles with German, French or Belgian license plates.
* The overview of traffic fines under the Administrative Enforcement of Traffic Regulations Act (Wahv), or Mulder Act, is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and Security, National Police, CJIB and the Public Ministry (OM).