Strict enforcement of laws for lights on bicycles - Amsterdam police has own interpretation

The police have announced, on a national level, that the laws for carrying lights on a bicycle will be strictly enforced, this autumn. The Amsterdam police says it will be less strict, though.

The Dutch national Counciel of Commissioners in Chief has called upon all police districts in the country to apply the rules for lighting on bicycles strictly, and equally everywhere.
The background is that some years ago, the enforcement situation had grown apart in several districts.

The rules are:
After dark, cyclists should carry lights, on the front and the rear end of the bike.
The front light must be white, and the rear light must be red.
It is not allowed to have blinking lights.
The lights must be attached to the bike itself, not to clothes, bags, etc.

The Amsterdam police may be more relaxed in the interpretation of the rules. They may, for example, ask a cyclist to press the button once more, so that the light does not blink (hence not fine the cyclist). Also, the rule of the lights having to be attached to the bike itself is probably going to be interpreted more relaxed in Amsterdam.

However, all cyclists be warned: every year, particularly at the start of the dark season, there are massive bicycle light checks by the police, also in Amsterdam. You may be fined E 20,- for not carrying light, or carrying the wrong lights.
As the risk of getting fined has turned out to be real over the past years, the number of cyclists with proper lighting went up from 7% to 70% in just 7 years.