Phantom braking in Netherlands
Braking for no reason? Report it.
Since July 2024, automatic emergency braking (AEB) has been mandatory in every new car in the EU. More and more drivers report their car braking hard at full speed for no reason. Hardly anyone records this officially.
Key figures
Reports per month
By incident date, in the selected period (default: last 12 months)
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| 2025-12 | 0 |
| 2026-01 | 0 |
| 2026-02 | 0 |
| 2026-03 | 0 |
| 2026-04 | 0 |
| 2026-05 | 0 |
| 2026-06 | 0 |
| 2026-07 | 0 |
| 2026-08 | 0 |
| 2026-09 | 0 |
| 2026-10 | 0 |
| 2026-11 | 1 |
Where does it happen?
Radar and cameras are mostly fooled by structures above and beside the road.
Incident map
Report ⚠ Collision Group of reports; red ring: includes a collision
Road situation at the spot
Tunnels, viaducts and gantries are known triggers
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| Straight road | 1 |
Road type
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| Residential area or car park | 1 |
Which cars?
Make and model come from the national vehicle register (the RDW in the Netherlands), not from what the reporter types.
Makes with the most reports
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| VOLKSWAGEN | 1 |
Models
| Vehicle | Reports | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| VOLKSWAGEN POLO | 1 | 1 |
Year of first registration
AEB mandatory from 7 July 2024 (EU GSR2)
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| 2019 | 1 |
Active driver-assistance system
"None" = the always-on emergency brake assist
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| None (driving myself) | 1 |
Under which conditions?
Light, weather, time of day, and what the driver thinks set the brake off.
Suspected trigger
According to the driver
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| Nothing visible | 1 |
Light conditions
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| Low sun | 1 |
Weather
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| Dry | 1 |
Time of day
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| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 |
| 14 | 0 |
| 15 | 1 |
| 16 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 |
| 18 | 0 |
| 19 | 0 |
| 20 | 0 |
| 21 | 0 |
| 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 0 |
Speed when braking
Speed just before the intervention
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| 0–29 | 1 |
| 30–49 | 0 |
| 50–79 | 0 |
| 80–99 | 0 |
| 100–119 | 0 |
| ≥ 120 | 0 |
How serious?
An unexpected emergency stop on the motorway is most dangerous for whoever is behind you.
How hard did the car brake?
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| Full emergency stop | 1 |
Consequence
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| I was startled, nothing else | 1 |
Dealer or importer response
Many drivers are told nothing is wrong
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| Not reported yet | 1 |
About these numbers
These are reports by drivers, not verified accident data. Make, model and year come from the national register via the plate; we only accept reports from countries whose register we can query. A make with more reports may simply have more cars on the road, so compare with fleet size. Repeat reports of the same vehicle count as separate incidents, but 'vehicles' counts each plate once.