Home Research Failure to yield the right of way causes by far most damages

Failure to yield the right of way causes by far the most damage

Jan 12, 2022

2 min reading time

Figures from Alpina and 112damage show that failure to yield the right of way is by far the most common cause of damage. In more than 38% of 4500 claims in the past 5 years, the other party did not yield the right of way, causing damage. The second most common cause of damage was rear-end collision with the vehicle in front (in over 14% of cases) and third was collision with a parked vehicle (in over 12% of cases).

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Which cause of damage is most common

Many Dutch unaware of right of way rules

A study by Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VNN) shows that a quarter of all road users in the Netherlands do not know the exact rules of right of way. If it has been some time since they obtained their driving license, the knowledge has sometimes (partially) slipped away. The fact that drivers do not know the traffic rules and signs properly can cause dangerous situations in traffic. This is evidenced by the fact that failure to yield the right of way is the largest cause of damage.

21% of cases also involved personal injury

Last year, 21% of all cases also involved personal injury. When you suffer mental or physical injury at the hands of another, we call it personal injury. Personal injury can be material damage, such as loss of income or medical expenses, as well as intangible damage, such as pain and grief. Moreover, personal injury can have major consequences not only for yourself, but also on your work or family life.

Last year most claims reports in June

There were a lot fewer claims reported in 2020 as a result of the corona crisis. Because of the lockdown in March, April and May 2020, many people worked from home and went out on the road less often. In 2021, the number of damage reports was again almost the same as 2019, although we also spent several months in lockdown last year. The figures show an increase in damage reports in June. The increase coincides with the end of the lockdown and the reopening of the society.