A chain-reaction crash involving at least ten vehicles on the N366 in northeast Groningen sent three people to hospital on Tuesday morning. Police said the collision happened around 07:25 between Alteveer and Nieuwe Pekela. A medical helicopter and multiple ambulances responded, and forensic teams used drones to map the scene. The severity of the injuries was not disclosed. Passenger cars and a commercial vehicle were involved; the exact total is still being established. The N366 is a provincial road that carries fast commuter traffic between Veendam and the German border, so closures quickly caused local delays.
Busiest morning rush of the year
The crash came during the heaviest morning peak so far in 2025: around 08:00, Dutch roads carried more than 1,100 km of traffic jams, according to mobility association ANWB. Multiple incidents around Rotterdam added to the gridlock, with disruptions reported on the A4, A15 and A16, including collisions near Capelle aan den IJssel. Rijkswaterstaat’s traffic service said more than 600 km of jams were on A-roads alone; ANWB’s total also counts provincial N-roads. Rain and the end of school holidays likely made the rush busier than usual.
Travel Impact
In the north, drivers on and around the N366 faced detours and slow-moving traffic while emergency crews cleared the road and investigators worked. Nationally, morning delays were widespread across Zuid-Holland, Noord-Brabant and Gelderland, with knock-on effects into the late morning. When rush hours coincide with wet weather and multiple incidents, clearance times stretch and bottlenecks spread beyond the original sites, especially where major motorways feed into bridges and tunnels around Rotterdam.
If you’re on the road
Authorities reminded drivers to leave extra space in rain, avoid distraction, and follow instructions from police and roadside services. If you’re approaching a tail-end of a jam, use hazard lights briefly to warn traffic behind you and form an emergency corridor for responders on multi-lane roads. Check a live traffic app before departure and consider off-peak travel where possible. urces: NL Times, ANWB traffic updates cited therein, and regional traffic reports indicating a >1,100 km peak on Tuesday morning.
