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Op basis van de CSRD wordt met ingang van verslagjaar 2024 van een afgebakende groep ondernemingen in Europa gevraagd om jaarlijks duurzaamheidsinformatie in hun bestuursverslag op te nemen, die overeenstemt met de ESRS. Bij deze informatie zal een externe onafhankelijke partij assurance moeten afgeven. In de CSRD wordt gevraagd om een assuranceopdracht, gericht op het verkrijgen van een beperkte mate van zekerheid. Deze vraag leidt tot uitdagingen met betrekking tot het object van assurance, de robuustheid van de criteria, de diepgang van de werkzaamheden en het verkrijgen van assurancebewijs. Opnieuw komt het risico van een groeiende verwachtingskloof in beeld. In deze bijdrage wordt een beschouwing gegeven van de belangrijkste uitdagingen en het risico op een verwachtingskloof. Daarvoor grijpen we ook terug op de historie van het assurance framework.

Het aantal fietsers dat ernstig letsel oploopt bij verkeersongevallen in Nederland is zorgwekkend (Krul, Valkenberg, Asscherman, Stam, & Klein Wolt, 2022). Dit komt o.a. doordat veel mensen in Nederland fietsen, maar ook het toenemend gebruik van de elektrische fiets heeft het verkeersbeeld veranderd. Een gevolg is dat er relatief vaak naar de elektrische fiets gewezen wordt als belangrijke factor voor het hoog blijven van het aantal ongevallen. Het is echter de vraag of andere factoren die samenhangen met toegenomen e-fiets gebruik, niet minstens zo belangrijk zijn. Hogere leeftijd, de toename in kwetsbaarheid, en een toename van het aantal gefietste kilometers bijvoorbeeld. Ook de invloed van andere weggebruikers kan belangrijk zijn. De Kamerleden De Groot en Geurts hebben hierom op 8 juli 2021 een motie ingediend om een onderzoek uit te voeren naar de invloed van andere weggebruikers op de veiligheid van fietsers. Het Ministerie van I&W heeft de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) verzocht om dit onderzoek uit te voeren. Dit document bevat een analyse van ongevallenstatistieken om meer inzicht te krijgen in ongevallen van (elektrische) fietsers in interactie met andere weggebruikers. Hierbij is specifiek onderscheid gemaakt tussen fietsers met een conventionele en fietsers met een elektrische fiets. Deze bevindingen zijn aangevuld met een beknopte literatuurstudie omtrent wetenschappelijke kennis waarin risicovolle interacties met andere weggebruikers van fietsers met een conventionele of elektrische fiets worden vergeleken.

Objective: The influence of psychoactive substances on driving performance and traffic safety has been extensively studied. Research on the influence of alcohol at the control level of behaviour (i.e. automated processes) has been well established and has shown that the ability to operate a vehicle decreases with rising alcohol levels. However, results one level higher at the manoeuvring level (i.e. conscious processes), are inconsistent. The cur-rent study aimed to replicate findings on the influence of alcohol on the control level of behaviour and investigate effects on the manoeuvring level in order to find suitable mea-sures to assess driving impairment. Method: The study was double-blind, placebo-controlled with a counterbalanced treat-ment order and a two-way crossover design. Thirty participants performed tasks in a driv-ing simulator under the influence of alcohol (0.5 parts per thousand) and a placebo. In the driving tasks the control level of behaviour (swerving, average speed, and speed variation) was investigated, as well as the manoeuvring level of behaviour (distance to other traffic during an overtak-ing manoeuvre, reaction time to a traffic light turning amber, and response to a suddenly merging car). Results: As expected, alcohol affected the control level of behaviour negatively. Participants swerved more and showed more speed variation after alcohol intake. The manoeuvring level of driving behaviour was also affected by alcohol. The distance to other drivers during an overtaking manoeuvre was smaller under the influence of alcohol. Results on reaction time were however less straightforward. Reaction time increased significantly under the influence of alcohol when reacting to a traffic light but not in reaction to a car unexpectedly merging into traffic. When analysing behaviour in reaction to these different events in more detail it became clear that they were responded to in varying manners, making it dif-ficult to find an average impairment measure. Conclusions: The deteriorating effect of alcohol at the control level of driving behaviour was replicated, confirming the suitability of the standard deviation of lateral position and the variation in speed as measures of impairment. At the manoeuvring level, the kept distance to the leading car during an overtaking manoeuvre appeared to be a suitable mea-sure to assess impairment as well as reaction time to a traffic light. The current study also confirms the difficulties in evaluating complex driving behaviour and the need for more research on this subject. (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Objective: Previous research reported cognitive and psychomotor impairments in long‐term users of benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs). This article explores the role of acute intoxication and clinical complaints.Methods: Neurocognitive and on‐road driving performance of 19 long‐term (≥6 months) regular (≥twice weekly) BZRA users with estimated plasma concentrations, based on self‐reported use, exceeding the therapeutic threshold (CBZRA+), and 31 long‐term regular BZRA users below (CBZRA−), was compared to that of 76 controls.Results: BZRA users performed worse on tasks of response speed, processing speed, and sustained attention. Age, but not CBZRA or self‐reported clinical complaints, was a significant covariate. Road‐tracking performance was explained by CBZRA only. The CBZRA + group exhibited increased mean standard deviation of lateral position comparable to that at blood‐alcohol concentrations of 0.5 g/L.Conclusions: Functional impairments in long‐term BZRA users are not attributable to self‐reported clinical complaints or estimated BZRA concentrations, except for road‐tracking, which was impaired in CBZRA + users. Limitations to address are the lack of assessment of objective clinical complaints, acute task related stress, and actual BZRA plasma concentrations. In conclusion, the results confirm previous findings that demonstrate inferior performance across several psychomotor and neurocognitive domains in long‐term BZRA users.

Objective To assess driving performance and neurocognitive skills of long‐term users of sedating antidepressants, in comparison to healthy controls. Methods Thirty‐eight long‐term (>6 months) users of amitriptyline (n = 13) and mirtazapine (n = 25) were compared to 65 healthy controls. Driving performance was assessed using a 1‐h standardised highway driving test in actual traffic, with road‐tracking error (standard deviation of lateral position [SDLP]) being the primary measure. Secondary measures included neurocognitive tasks related to driving. Performance differences between groups were compared to those of blood alcohol concentrations of 0.5 mg/ml to determine clinical relevance. Results Compared to controls, mean increase in SDLP of all antidepressant users was not significant, nor clinically relevant (+0.75 cm, 95% CI: −0.83 cm; +2.33 cm). However, users treated less than 3 years (n = 20) did show a significant and clinically relevant increase in SDLP (+2.05 cm). No significant effects were observed on neurocognitive tasks for any user group, although large individual differences were present. Most results from neurocognitive tests were inconclusive, while a few parameters confirmed non‐inferiority for users treated longer than 3 years. Conclusion The impairing effects of antidepressant treatment on driving performance and neurocognition mitigate over time following long‐term use of 3 years.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to compare actual driving performance and skills related to driving of patients using benzodiazepine anxiolytics or hypnotics for at least 6 months to that of healthy controls.METHODS: Participants were 44 long-term users of benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine-related anxiolytics (n = 12) and hypnotics (n = 32) and 65 matched healthy controls. Performance was assessed using an on-the-road driving test measuring standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP, in cm) and a battery of neurocognitive tasks. Performance differences between groups were compared with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg/ml to determine clinical relevance.RESULTS: Compared with controls, SDLP was significantly increased in hypnotic users (+1.70 cm) but not in anxiolytic users (+1.48 cm). Anxiolytic and hypnotic users showed significant and clinically relevant impairment on neurocognitive task measuring executive functioning, vigilance, and reaction time. For patients using hypnotics for at least 3 years, no significant driving impairment was observed.CONCLUSION: Impairing effects of benzodiazepine hypnotics on driving performance may mitigate over time following longer term use (i.e. 3 years or more) although neurocognitive impairments may remain.