Police want to waive fines for blocked motorists A35 | Inland

Activist farmers occupied the Azelo junction near Almelo for hours on Thursday. This led to long traffic jams in both directions on the A35 and A1 motorways. Twente police officers were instructed to exercise restraint towards people behind the blockade, the spokeswoman said. “Make sure that safety is maintained and that people are not at risk. If it is not possible to end the blockade, you have to look at how you can ensure that other road users are not endangered, for example by leading them away,” said the spokeswoman.

According to the Twente police, the fines were imposed by two motorcycle officers from Rotterdam from the National Unit, who were nearby and offered to help. They had not been given the instruction to exercise restraint. “They identified a danger because someone turned on the highway, but they were a little too early with that. After that, we ourselves helped many people to turn around so that they could safely exit the highway. In fact, exactly what the ticketed people have done themselves.”

A year without a car?

One of the two ticketed people, Ruud Leliefeld from Borne, wrote on social media that he was fined on Thursday for violation of Article 5 of the Road Traffic Act. The police could not confirm this. The fine was torn up on Friday.

Leliefeld was driving on the road with two young children when traffic came to a standstill. The situation would continue until 8 p.m. With a young baby and a child who needs to go to bed, that’s not ideal. When other drivers started to turn around: “There were certainly 50, maybe a hundred. In the end, we made the choice to follow these people.”

But Ruud and his family were unlucky and were therefore fined: “It would be submitted to the judge. I understood that the maximum fine is 8,700 euros and a one-year driving ban!” He didn’t get angry, but he did get frustrated: “I would think a year without a car would go very far. That uncertainty is perhaps the worst,” he wrote.

Article 5

Article 5 states that it is prohibited to cause danger on the road. Anyone who violates that rule could face up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 9,000 euros. In addition, a person may not be allowed to drive a vehicle for up to two years.

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