The House calls on the minister to amend the Road Traffic Act, so that the imposition of traffic monitoring by the court is made possible.
Serious traffic offenders who frequently commit offenses and have also been convicted for this must have a monitoring box in their car to be able to monitor their driving behavior for a long time. During the two-minute debate on road safety next Thursday, April 13, a motion will be submitted by Member of Parliament Daniël Koerhuis and it appears that a majority in the House of Representatives will support this. The House calls on the minister to amend the Road Traffic Act, so that the imposition of traffic monitoring by the court is made possible. And that is much needed.
Some time ago, together with the CBR and a number of partners from the field, we united in an expert group with which we explore the possibilities of influencing behavior through monitoring. This initiative is also included in the National Road Safety Action Plan 2022 – 2025 of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. We've come a long way. The technology is there and is almost ready to be tested. But more is needed. The imposition of such a measure, which monitors the driving behavior of serious traffic offenders, must be included in the Road Traffic Act and anchored in criminal law. Then judges will also be able to actually impose this. And unfortunately it's not that far yet.
After all, why don't we better protect our society against frequent traffic offenders who repeatedly make mistakes and thereby make victims? Why should we not first monitor the driving behavior of serious traffic offenders after a penalty and driving ban? After all, probation and supervision are also used for perpetrators of serious violent crimes. After serving their sentence, they must first show that they can safely participate in society again. Why then do perpetrators of traffic offenses in which victims have suffered no need to show that they can safely participate in traffic again? These are questions that have occupied the Victim Support Fund for some time, because the risk of recidivism is high and the impact on the lives of victims and surviving relatives can be enormous, says Ineke Sybesma, director Victim Support Fund.
We hope that the motion will receive broad support. If our initiative is widely supported in the House, then that will be a nice boost. It motivates us to continue our mission. So that new road casualties can be prevented and society is better protected against traffic bastards who flout all the rules.
