The campaign recently started at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, where TeamAlert is accompanied by a team of real doctors.
In the month of December, TeamAlert information officers will travel by light moped to several cities in the Netherlands, dressed as doctors, to alert light moped riders to the approaching compulsory helmet use, which will take effect on 1 January 2023. Research shows that the risk of fatal head injury in traffic decreases by 71 percent if they wear a helmet. The campaign recently started at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, where TeamAlert is accompanied by a team of real doctors.
The team of doctors includes a trauma surgeon, an emergency physician, an oral surgeon and a neurologist. These are all doctors who often have to deal with the consequences of moped accidents. Some of the participating doctors signed the petition in 2018 to introduce mandatory helmet use for moped riders. In that petition they pointed to the risks of brain injury in the absence of a helmet.
Fewer accidents and casualties
There are now 800.000 light mopeds on the road in the Netherlands. These are scooters or other mopeds with a blue license plate, which are not allowed to drive faster than 25 kilometers per hour. Every year, 30 to 40 fatalities and hundreds of serious and minor injuries occur among moped and moped riders. That is why helmets will be compulsory for both moped riders and passengers on 1 January 2023. The aim is to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities.
From electric scooters to an old Puch Maxi
Doctors, Veilig Verkeer Nederland, Security NL, TeamAlert and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management are committed to keeping the risks of traffic accidents as low as possible. Youth organization TeamAlert, which deals with the road safety of young people on a daily basis, has recently started dressing up as a doctor with a dozen light mopeds, from scooters to an old Puch Maxi, with a helmet on, of course.
They drive past universities, markets and stations in various cities and talk to light moped riders about the upcoming mandatory helmet use. They point out how vulnerable moped riders are in traffic. Wearing a helmet can sometimes feel awkward, but on the other hand there is the enormous safety gain, namely the smaller chance of (fatal) brain injury. On their tour, TeamAlert provides tips on the two approved helmets. Moped riders still have a month to buy it. Who after January 1 without helmet on riding a moped, risks a voucher of 100 euros.
