Merwedebrug truck ban enforcement increases amid ongoing violations

Rijkswaterstaat and the police are increasing enforcement of the heavy vehicle ban on the Merwedebrug near Gorinchem. Although truck traffic has decreased by over 95 percent since the ban was introduced on July 18, hundreds of trucks still cross the bridge daily.

Industry organization TLN has called for stricter enforcement, particularly regarding foreign vehicles. While Dutch violators can be fined via camera footage, foreign drivers cannot be easily penalized without physical inspections. TLN emphasizes that consistent enforcement is necessary to maintain a level playing field and ensure the bridge's structural safety.

In a related development, a private initiative has launched a website using artificial intelligence to track violations. By analyzing public Rijkswaterstaat livestreams with YOLO object detection and ByteTrack, the site provides real-time counts of trucks and buses. On one Thursday, the AI detected over 1,800 trucks, prompting the site to display a theoretical ‘fine counter’ based on the standard 500 euro penalty.