Nursery goes to court to overturn ban on wagons
A daycare centre in Almere is going to court to overturn a ban on using electric wagons to transport children, reports broadcaster NOS on Wednesday.
Het Kinderstraatje is set to challenge the Dutch transport minister’s decision to ban the vehicles, arguing that this incurs extra costs to take children from one place to another.
On Monday night, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen banned some 3,500 Stints from the road, after seeing a transport inspectorate report on the tragic crash with a train in Oss killing four children last month.
The unpublished report reportedly said that if certain parts of the electric vehicles break down, they either stop or the brakes will not work, according to the AD. The hand brake was reportedly not strong enough to stop the vehicle, while the manufacturer is alleged to have installed larger motors than those approved by the transport ministry.
RTL Nieuws reports that its sources say a court action from Stint is also expected to start this week, claiming that the ban is unfounded. This has not been publicly confirmed, and other Dutch media report that the firm is in consultation with the transport ministry.
But Edwin Renzen, managing partner at Stint Urban Mobility, said earlier this week that he did not agree with the transport ministry inspectors’ report. He warned of the ‘social impact’ of stranding 20,000 children who had been taken to and from schools and daycare in the vehicles.
Stints, which carry up to 10 children or cargo such as post, were approved for use on Dutch roads in 2011, although two road safety groups protested at the time. Last month, a Stint collided with a train at a closed level crossing in Oss, killing four children and leaving another child and the childcare worker seriously injured.
DutchNews.nl has not received a response to calls and an email to Stint Urban Mobility.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
Make a donation