Speed Violations Surge In Belgium

          Number of checked vehicles dropped due to massive remote work after a recent railway strike. PHOTO: POLITIE.BE15 OCT – Speed violations increase in number and severity in Belgium, results of latest Federal Police operation show.

On October 5-6 the 17th edition of the national Speed Marathon took place at 556 locations across the country.

Action

The integrated police forces checked a total of 792,546 vehicles. “We note an increase in the number of drivers in violation compared to the 16th edition, with this time 4.23% of drivers in excess of speed. The number of driving license withdrawals for excessive speed is also higher than at the start of the year, with 318 license withdrawals”, Federal Police press service informed.

Results

The results are really high insofar as this control action had been massively announced and the drivers warned. The percentage of drivers in violation continues to increase from year to year, which is explained by the technical means made available to police services (more speed cameras, zero tolerance for speed in excess).

Vow

“We will therefore continue to control the speed, which, when excessive, remains one of the killers of the road. Indeed, reducing your average speed, even by 1 km/h, can already save lives”, the Police vowed. According to them the arrival of zero tolerance of the cameras has been an essential development in the fight against speeding. Excessive speed is still too often socially accepted which is why the Police focus on all speeding violations – minor or major.

The number of checked vehicles was lower than during previous operations. The drop is explained by the widespread remote working following the recent rail transport strike in Belgium.