A 35-year-old motorcyclist from Emmeloord was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, two months’ suspended imprisonment and a 16-month driving ban, of which eight months are suspended, for causing a serious collision on the Kuinderweg near Emmeloord in September 2025 and leaving the scene. The court found that he had driven at about 158 to 170 km/h where the limit was 80 km/h and struck another motorcyclist travelling in the same direction. The victim suffered seven broken ribs, a broken collarbone and shoulder blade, and a collapsed lung, and was hospitalised for two weeks.

The court rejected the defendant’s account that he had blacked out and had not realised he had hit someone. It cited evidence that his motorcycle stopped twice after the crash and that he searched online shortly afterwards for BMW parts and accident reports. The judges ruled that he had driven very carelessly but that recklessness, the most serious legal form of traffic fault, had not been proven. They also took account of a later speeding offence. His probation period is three years.