2023-04-21 04:00:00
“I am shocked to have to pay €68.02 because it is claimed that I forgot to put on my turn signal when leaving a roundregarding”, writes Raphaël via the orange Alert us button.
On March 31, the Brussels resident went to his eBox, a secure electronic mailbox where official documents are keptand there discovered a traffic fine.
“They invite me to pay this fine because I would have forgotten to put on my indicator when leaving a roundregarding, which is at the level of the Chaussée de Gand in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe”he says.
The act sanctioned by the Brussels-West police zone took place on March 21 at 12:50 p.m.
“I was extremely surprised at the severity of the sanction. I understand that there must be rules so that we can live in society in a harmonious way. But there, my feeling is that there is an excess of zeal on the part of some who have led to this kind of situation which seems excessive to me. I sometimes get fines. I am not always parked properly, since I am a doctor and I do home visits. My complaints are never accepted and I have to pay. If they find that I did not put on my flashing light, that is the case and I will pay. I just want to point out that This is a surprising social fact, to put it mildly.”
Raphaël says he felt “trapped”, he who has been going to this place every day for 28 years. “It is in my opinion an excess of application of the rules. It is a feeling of helplessness.”
“To be honest, I think I usually put my turn signal on. I wasn’t on the Meiser roundregarding. When you leave such a roundregarding, you put on your turn signal. Maybe I missed it in this case- ci. I may have been distracted. Clearly, someone thought it was his job to punish me and/or he had to listen to orders from his superior. He stood at a place x, and he watched all the cars passing by. When you see the number of cars passing by, I believe his salary was well reimbursed that day.
And to conclude: “I am a treating doctor so 68 euros, I can pay them. But there are people who start their month with 1500 euros. 68 euros, that’s a lot of money. The assessor does not know the situations. It takes a little think regarding what you’re doing.”
This is the behavior deemed the most irritating in built-up areas
For his part, Benoît Godart, spokesperson for VIAS, indicates that the road safety institute receives letters from drivers who complain that road users do not use turn signals.
“This is also the behavior considered the most irritating in urban areas. One in four Walloons say they do not use the turn signal. It is clear that from the moment it is irritating behavior, but also dangerous, do not Putting on your blinker is discourteous behavior. It is logical that he might be sanctioned”, he declares.
In a European survey dating from 2022, 55% of Belgian drivers admit to forgetting “regularly” to use the turn signal. “Unfortunately, this behavior is on the increase because the year before, it was 50%. That makes one out of two Belgian drivers who from time to time forget to put it on. When you come out of a roundregarding without putting on your turn signal, it’s dangerous for drivers who might not expect it. It’s also a problem for other drivers who are waiting to enter the roundregarding. It’s also a waste of time “It’s the only way to communicate in traffic. Not putting it on is not warning other drivers, it’s a lack of respect.”
The VIAS spokesperson also commented on the amount of the fine for this first-degree violation. “It’s an amount of 58 euros plus administrative costs, so we arrive at 68 euros. It’s a less serious offense than running a red light, but the fact remains that all these small offenses that harm to the good atmosphere, to the conviviality, deserve to be sanctioned. It is logical that from time to time drivers are fined for this.”
Figures concerning the number of annual offenses on this issue have not yet been collected. “But we know that it is a relatively widespread offense with few penalties. The police officer must be there, see it because he is physically present on the scene. This cannot be seen by a camera. This is the reason for which, checks are tedious and that there are not a lot of penalties. However, this deserves greater attention from the police services insofar as it is an irritating behavior. However, aggressive behavior can spread oil. This is why they must be punished”concludes Benoît Godart.
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