Belgium Registers Record
Number Of Speeding Offences Ever
14 JUL - A record number of speeding offences were registered in Belgium.
This is revealed by the national traffic statistics for 2021 which were recently published.
Trend
The most striking among the data is the number of registered speeding offences, which were 4,659,808 – the highest number ever recorded. The upward trend was 14.75% (+599,072 offences) compared to the previous year is mainly due to the increase in the number of new control devices (particularly section speed cameras), as well as the number of staff growing in the regional centers for processing recordings from Federal Police surveillance cameras, which more and more local police areas are calling on.
Alcohol
In 2021, 35,724 reports were drawn up for driving under the influence of alcohol. This figure is certainly higher than in 2020 (31,119), but lower than that of 2019 (51,891, i.e. -31.15%). The low number of alcohol-related offences observed in 2020 and 2021 is mainly due to the COVID pandemic - first, because of successive confinements, curfews and mandatory closing times, and second, due to the lower usage of breathalizer alcohol tests for the sake of police officers health.
Drugs
In 2021, 13,185 reports were drawn up for driving under the influence of narcotics, an increase compared to 2020 (10,922) and 2019 (9,742). Despite two years marked by the health crisis, this increase may be due (in part) to the simplification of screening (saliva analysis rather than blood sampling) and to the more systematic imposition by the public prosecutor's office of the saliva test during an accident.
In 2021, the number of reports (114,739) of mobile phone use while driving increased slightly by 6.2% compared to 2020 (108,002). Public prosecutors and police departments are paying increasing attention to this form of distracted driving.
Total
The total number of traffic offences recorded in 2021 (6,063,010) increased by 13.17% compared to 2020 (5,357,224), and by 15.30% compared to 2019. The strongest upward trend comes above all to the speed category.
“The figures speak for themselves. 2021 is marked by an increase in the number of violations recorded on the country's roads and highways. It is obvious that this increase is explained, among other things, by the evolution of the means we use to deal with these offences”, Koen Ricour, director of the Federal Highway Police and ROADPOL Council member comments. “It should be noted that this evolution will continue further in the future. It must be perfectly clear in everyone's mind that road safety is everyone's business and that it is up to everyone to heed their responsibilities. As a law enforcement service, we take our own and act to ensure road safety. The drivers still have considerable room for improvement in terms of respecting the traffic regulations and I urge them to seriously consider the issue”, Ricour appeals.