News report | 19-01-2026 | 16:43
On the A7, a large number of drivers are speeding. One in six does not adhere to the speed limit, it appears. This must change now that the new average speed check between Hoorn and Purmerend is activated. Rijkswaterstaat and the Public Prosecution Service (Parket CVOM) hope this will improve traffic safety on the highway and reduce the chance of accidents. Research shows that speeders cause more accidents and that when things go wrong, the consequences are more severe.
The average speed check system will be activated on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Drivers traveling from Hoorn to Purmerend are registered between kilometer markers 28.1 and 19.0. If the average measured speed is too high, the car owner will receive a fine. The system in the other direction of the A7, from Purmerend to Hoorn, is not yet activated. This is expected to happen during 2026.
Increasingly busy
The Dutch roads are becoming increasingly busy. Measurements during the test phase of the average speed check show that on weekdays, 34,000 cars per day travel in one direction on this section of the A7. Daily, 5,000 to 8,000 drivers were speeding, roughly one in six. There were also outliers with speeds well above 200 km/h. Such road users pose a great risk of serious accidents and are a danger to themselves and others. Now that the average speed check is activated, this risk should decrease. Besides traffic safety, the average speed check also aims to improve traffic flow. This is important on the A7, which is very busy during rush hour.
Day and night
An average speed check registers speed over a longer distance. Speed is not measured at one point; it concerns the average speed between two measuring points. The system will enforce 24/7, so those who speed will be fined both day and night. This also applies to weekends. In total, there are 63 average speed check systems on Dutch roads, spread over 31 locations. This makes the average speed check a supplement to existing traffic enforcement tools such as speed cameras and police controls.