Against the “pirates” of the road
The Walloon Minister in charge of Road Safety, Valérie De Bue, reacted to the events in these terms: “We must intensify the fight once morest carjackers and coordinate our efforts. I will quickly contact my counterparts in other regions as well as the Ministers of Justice and the Interior”, she said, adding that “lthe social networks of car occupants seem to show unequivocally that they have extremely serious and deviant behavior in terms of road safety”.
A recurrence problem
Is there a general security problem related to “pirates” or “drivers” in Belgium? Beyond the specific case of Strépy-Bracquegnies, which still needs to be clarified, what the available data indicate is that there is in any case a problem of recidivism. “Half of those convicted in court re-offend within ten years of conviction. says Benoit Godart of the Vias Road Safety Institute. “It is this small group of repeat offenders who generally cause very serious accidents. It is important to find the right sanction, it can vary from one individual to another.”
Every year, speed kills regarding 150 people. “When a pedestrian is hit by a car going over 80 km/h, the chance of survival is slim,” specifies Benoit Godart. Alcohol is implicated in the death of a hundred people each year. This is the main reason for disqualification from driving. No figures for drug-driving, although “It’s an increasingly common phenomenon, especially among younger audiences.”
What penalties?
“Penalties can be very severe”, exhibits Benoit Godart. “It can go as far as life forfeiture for the most serious cases, fines of several thousand euros or even prison. These laws must be enforced.”
And they must be applied on the ground, which is obviously not so simple with regard to respect for the forfeiture of the right to drive.“Now with the profusion of NPR cameras [qui permet d’identifier, dans la circulation, les propriétaires des plaques]it’s easier to enforce the law because someone who rides while they are disqualified will be immediately spotted by these cameras.”
But it is not enough to control the application of the sanction for an effective road safety policy. This is what Bruno Gysels, a former judge and currently still active as a lawyer specializing in road traffic, points out. He who regularly defends perpetrators of sometimes serious traffic offenses considers, in a text published on the internet and which he sent to us, that the authorities are wrong regarding priority: “We regularly hear that our road network will be dotted with many new speed cameras. I never hear of new and substantial investments in controlling driving under the influence. And I’m not even talking regarding helping – in everyone’s interest – the addicted drivers I encounter on a daily basis. Some sometimes reproach me for defending alcoholic assassins. I always answer that once the facts have been committed, it is essential that the author of the facts be accompanied with great humanity but without complacency.“
Review this news report on penalties for serious offenders (03/21/2022):
