A bicycle painted white, with a crate on the front; ‘In loving memory of Toni’, it says. It’s a memorial monument, placed there by the twenty-year-old German student’s friends group from Nijmegen who died on December 2nd, 2021.

The fatal accident happened on the crossing between the Slotemaker de Bruïneweg and the St. Annastraat. One of Dar’s garbage trucks took a right turn while Toni tried to go straight ahead, en route to Radboud University where she was a student.

Unexpectedly Torn Away

It was a deeply unfortunate accident, like every deadly traffic accident that severely impacts the next of kin. To have someone unexpectedly torn away- such a thing leaves deep marks. The group of friends chooses to refrain from discussing that impact; the monument they placed on the site of the accident, is their way of keeping Toni’s memory alive.

The police investigation into the incident has been completed six months after the fact, but the results have not yet been made public. The investigation’s findings were submitted to the public prosecutor’s office this past Friday. The district attorney must now decide whether to prosecute the garbage truck driver, and if so, what criminal offense he can be prosecuted with.

Reconstruction

After all, that was the goal of the investigation: to find out what happened exactly. Based on witness testimony and a reconstruction on-site, which took place on the 25th of January this year, the police attempted to determine who was driving where at what moment.

Was Toni, like the garbage truck, waiting at the red light, and did she get hit when both accelerated as the light turned green? Was the garbage truck turning already and did Toni pass alongside right in the blind spot? Was the truck driving being reckless, or was there little he could do? These are all questions that those involved want to have answered.

Warning Light

Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the Nijmegen municipality has made some changes to the crossing, in order to improve safety. At this T-intersection, cyclists and motorised traffic get simultaneous green lights. That is why there is now an extra warning light that blinks to remind turning cars that there are cyclists going straight ahead.

‘If the waiting time at a traffic light increases, there is a greater chance that cyclists will run a red light. This means a greater risk of a traffic collision’

The municipality took a close look at the safety of the intersection right after the lethal accident, according to traffic officers Jos Spriel and Davy Beumer. They also looked at the possibility of separating the lights for cyclists and motorised traffic, but that did not prove to be a valid alternative.

More Risk

‘That would create a new, larger problem’, Beumer explains. ‘Because of the traffic flow for buses and emergency services, this light is linked to another traffic light on the St. Annastraat. If you separate the lights, waiting times for red lights will increase everywhere for all road users.’

‘And we know that the odds of people running a red light increase with waiting times, especially when it comes to cyclists. Car drivers are also more likely to accelerate more to either make it through an orange light, or just barely run a red one. And that risk is much more significant than the present one with simultaneous green lights.’

Both officers know that it is impossible to create risk-free traffic. Spriel: ‘We can try to lower the risk as much as possible. But unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a hundred percent safety with traffic measures alone.’

This article by Maarten Reith has earlier been published in the Gelderlander.