On my way to the coast in Holland I noticed how a country suffering from chronic over-regulation can suddenly forget why some rules have real value. I took this shot of a Dutch police patrol-car in Zeeland, stationed on a parking-space specifically intended for disabled drivers (notice the blue disabled P sign and the blue colour).
Was there an emergency (112 in Holland/Europe)? No, there was a Vietnamese food-stand at 10m (background)… 
BTW: calling the police in Holland for non-urgent matters has become almost impossible: all police stations in The Netherlands have one single phone number: 900-8844. That’s correct: a paying toll-line on a 900 premium number…
The Dutch 112 (=911 in the USA) emergency operators will not put you through if they feel there’s no imminent danger (like when criminals have just left the scene), even if you cannot reach the premium Dutch 900 police number with your own (mobile) phone, eg while roaming as a tourist. Totally insane.
Meanwhile, some Dutch police cars apparently park on spaces for the disabled, just to get a snack.
Great.
[emergency numbers in The Netherlands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number ]
To put insult upon injury, the weather turned into a most unpleasant version of November Rain:
[diving (visibility: less than 1m/yard) in windy Holland, August 2006: we went home, dreaming of Egypt in October 
]
This blog is not affiliated with or endorsed by the city of Antwerp, Belgium.
I don’t see any policemen standing by the Vietnameze foodcorner overthere.
Second of all, the 0900 number is NOT a paying toll-line. The charges are the same for regular phone-traffic.
The generic 0900 number has been made so that EVERYONE in The Netherlands can call this number without having to search the phonebooks for the local police-station, the 0900 number will automatically redirect you there, at no extra costs besides what a regular phonecall would cost.
So, get your facts straight.
Comment by Dutchguy — August 3, 2007 @ 10:33 pm |
Thank you from commenting from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Holland.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get both the police officers, the whole parking lot and the Vietnamese food stand in one shot.
The Dutch 900 police number is a toll line for all those non-Dutch visitors who are roaming with their cell phone. Like I pointed out, while roaming as a tourist, visitors will pay high 900 charges. Any non-Dutch GSM operator will simply bill the call as a regular 900 toll line, often at prohibitive per minute charges. They were on my cell phone bill… Roaming non-Dutch prepaid callers often won’t even be able to reach the Dutch 900 police number. There are no other countries in the EU with a 900 toll number to reach the police.
In comparison: Antwerp, Belgium uses a toll free 800 number to reach the police for non-urgent matters.
Comment by Peter - blog author — August 4, 2007 @ 7:44 am |