NORTH HOLLAND – The province of North Holland is committed to teaching vulnerable target groups to behave safely in traffic.
Research shows that school-age children and seniors on bicycles run a relatively high risk in traffic.
Organizations that offer traffic education in schools, or municipalities that want to invest in bicycle safety for the elderly, can apply for a subsidy from the province from 3 January.
According to national figures, it is becoming increasingly unsafe on the road. The number of road casualties is also increasing in North Holland. One way to make roads safer is to encourage road users to behave more safely.
Two target groups are at greater risk than other groups: school-age children and seniors on bicycles.
Traffic education leads to safer behaviour
Research by the Road Safety Research Foundation (SWOV) has shown that traffic education and information lead to safer road behaviour.
An example of this is giving a guest lesson at a school, where children are taught, for example, that you should not use your mobile phone while cycling because you will then be distracted from traffic.
The province is making more than 1.6 million euros in subsidy available in 2022.
Organizations that offer traffic education in schools can apply for a subsidy for projects from Monday 3 January to Thursday 17 February 2021.
The subsidy scheme for traffic education is called ‘Implementation Scheme for Traffic Education for Schoolchildren Noord-Holland 2022’ and can be found at
https://www.noord-holland.nl/Loket/Subsidies
The Doorsteps program helps the elderly to become aware
Cycling is healthy, even if you are a bit older.
But older cyclists are also vulnerable.
The ‘Doortrappen’ program helps to make elderly people aware of their cycling behaviour, the risks in traffic and possible protective equipment. This allows them to cycle fit and safely for longer.
Support for the elderly can vary from giving tips when purchasing a bicycle, to offering cycling lessons. Each municipality can opt for its own approach that connects to the existing local networks for the elderly.
The province is making 110,000 euros available in subsidy in 2022.
A newly participating municipality can receive a maximum of 10,000 euros in subsidy. A municipality that has previously developed Doortrap activities with the subsidy from the province will receive 5,000 euros.
The province of North Holland is investing in conscious travel behavior with cleaner means of transport, aided by smart systems. Road safety always comes first.
Deputy Jeroen Olthof: “We make it easier for travelers to choose bicycle and public transport and invest in measures that reduce CO2 emissions from traffic.
We use the latest techniques to help us do this. We maintain our own infrastructure as sustainably as possible and with respect for nature and the environment. We invest in innovations in road and hydraulic engineering. In this way we keep Noord-Holland accessible and liveable. Smart, clean and safe travel in North Holland, that is what we aim for.”
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