Amsterdam to use cameras to catch scooter riders in cycle lanes

Amsterdam city council is to use cameras to catch more moped riders who break the rules by using cycle lanes or ride without helmets.

Numberplate recognition cameras will be used for the one-year trial, beginning on November 8. If the scheme is successful the council could deploy extra mobile cameras.

Scooters with blue plates have been banned from most cycle lanes inside the A10 and their riders required to wear helmets since April 2019. If they are caught breaching the law they face a €95 fine.

However, barely half of all riders comply with the law and latest figures show that the problem is getting worse. Last year 80% of scooter riders wore a helmet according to council figures, but the proportion dropped to 65% this year. The proportion riding in a cycle lane with no helmet on went up from 24% to 46%.

‘Unfortunately there has been a decline in observation of this rule recently,’ traffic alderman Egbert de Vries said. ‘That’s why it’s importance to give enforcement an extra boost. Using fixed, and later mobile, cameras in the city allows us to enforce it more efficiently.’

The rules are currently enforced by community wardens (BOAs) who issue around 100 fines per month.