Transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen’s plans to put up the maximum speed limit on 60% of motorways to 130 kph came under heavy fire in parliament on Wednesday and the minister admitted some roads were not ‘safe enough’.

In addition, Christian Democrat MPs say they do not want the minister to spend any money to make the faster speed limit possible. Schultz van Haegen has set aside €130m to pay for improvements.
The CDA, which is part of the coalition government, says it would be irresponsible to spend money on allowing motorists to drive faster, and it wants safety improvements to be carried out before the speed limit goes up.
2014
The minister had hoped to bring in the new limit in September 2012 but has set a deadline of 2014 for carrying out necessary changes to boost safety. She says some 20% of roads earmarked for the higher speed limit are not equipped to deal with it.
‘It is very, very sad that this is how the government deals with road safety,’ Socialist MP Farshad Bashir is quoted as saying by the Volkskrant.
According to the Financieele Dagblad, the minister is prepared to make concessions on this point.
Information
Opposition MPs called on Schultz van Haegen to give more concrete information about the likely effect on road safety, air quality and noise pollution.
The debate will continue at a later date when there is more information on the table.
Meanwhile, Amsterdam city council executive Eric Wiebes has written to the minister urging her to rethink her decision to abolish the 80 kph speed limit on the city’s ring road.
Rotterdam and Utrecht city councils are also against a 100 kph limit because of the increase in pollution.