On the A12 near Duiven in Gelderland, a major traffic jam occurred on Friday afternoon due to a chain collision involving nine cars. Traffic was backed up in both directions for an hour, but traffic towards the German border is slowly starting to move again.
A spokesperson for the ANWB confirms that the road was closed in both directions due to the accident. Cars heading towards the German border can now drive again. Around 3:00 PM, most of the delay there is over.
Traffic is still backed up in the direction of Utrecht. Cars can drive around the accident via a rest area along the road. The delay there is currently an hour.
A police spokesperson confirms to NU.nl that an accident involving nine cars occurred near Duiven. There were no casualties, but some people were taken away by ambulance as a precaution. Eight cars need to be recovered, but the police do not know how long that will take.
The A12 is an important route for many holidaymakers. There were already fears of a busy weekend on European roads. The holiday rush, controls at the German border, and the accident are causing extra traffic jams on the A12.
On the A1 from Amersfoort to Apeldoorn, an accident also happened near Hoenderloo, causing the road to be closed. That causes a delay of fifty minutes. That is also a popular holiday route. Around Amsterdam it is busy due to work on the A10. Normally, motorists can detour via the A9, but an accident has happened there. Traffic in the direction of Diemen is therefore at a standstill.
Saturday, the holiday rush in the Netherlands will be less, and it is expected to be especially busy on roads abroad. In addition, Dutch holiday traffic will be more spread out over the day, the ANWB expects.