Amsterdam, the cycling city of Europe
The bicycle is one of the healthiest and most environmentally friendly means of transport. Cycling provides exercise and maintains health. After all, exercise is good for you. In addition, the bicycle produces minimal emissions and is therefore good for the environment.
In some European cities people cycle more than in other European cities. However, Amsterdam has traditionally been the cycling tooth of Europe. Did you know that there are 881,000 bicycles in Amsterdam? This while 931,748 people live in Amsterdam. This means that on average almost every resident of Amsterdam owns a bicycle!
No helmet requirement in Amsterdam
So there are a lot of bicycles riding around in Amsterdam. However, this also causes a lot of danger, especially now that there are many cars, scooters and vans in Amsterdam. So it is quite dangerous to ride around by bike in Amsterdam. For example, research has shown that of the almost 5,000 traffic victims in Amsterdam, more than half were on a bicycle.
Young people aged 18 and 24 in particular appear to be victims of a bicycle accident. Although they can engage a personal injury lawyer in Amsterdam (Dutch: letselschade advocaat Amsterdam) to recover damages, this does not alter the fact that these young people have to go through life with often serious and sometimes even permanent injuries.
Despite the great risk of injury as a result of a bicycle accident in Amsterdam, helmets are not compulsory throughout the Netherlands. While brain damage is a common injury as a result of a bicycle collision. This seems incomprehensible. Especially now that helmets are mandatory in other European cities, often for children.
Special protection for cyclists in the Netherlands
However, a special arrangement has been included in the law in the Netherlands. This legal provision entitles cyclists to personal injury compensation, regardless of the circumstances of the bicycle accident. Firstly, under Dutch law there is a right to free legal assistance from a personal injury lawyer (Dutch: letselschade advocaat). If someone in Amsterdam has an accident with a bicycle, this person can contact a personal injury lawyer in Amsterdam free of charge.
Furthermore, victims of a bicycle accident are always entitled to compensation for personal injury if they are hit by a car. The only condition is that the traffic victim is hit as a cyclist in Amsterdam.
Naturally, the cyclist will receive compensation if he or she is hit by a car, scooter or van through no fault of his or her own. But the special legal regulation, which can be found in Article 185 of the Road Traffic Act, stipulates that there is also a right to personal injury compensation if the cyclist himself makes a traffic error. If a cyclist drives through a red light or does not give priority to a car coming from the right, the cyclist will still receive compensation.
The compensation for your own fault amounts to at least 50% of the damage suffered. But under certain circumstances this damage can amount to 75% or even 100%. This is the case if there is serious and permanent injury or if the consequences of the accident for the traffic victim are serious. Children up to the age of 14 always receive full compensation for damages resulting from a bicycle accident.
The Netherlands in general and Amsterdam in particular use the bicycle a lot as a means of transport. However, there is no obligation to wear a helmet, but victims are always (partially) reimbursed for personal injury because of a traffic accident.
