Understanding the Impact of Zone 30 in Brussels: Fines, Safety, and Controversy

2023-09-22 09:40:00

The rule is the rule. But you have to recognize that when a letter stamped SPF Justice arrives, a little stress tickles your fancy. And it’s difficult to stay calm and stay on track when you’re fined for a very slight speeding violation: 31 km/h instead of 30? It’s a 63 euro fine. But the rule is the rule.

Let us first of all remember that the main aim of the generalization of 30 zones in Brussels is to strengthen road safety and ensure that the city, as a whole, is passable for cyclists and pedestrians, without risking their lives and having to install cycle paths everywhere.

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“I have never had a fine in Belgium even though I have had my license since 2002. And here, twice in 15 days.”

But the numerous radars installed on the roads of the capital exasperate more than one. “I’ve never had a fine in Belgium even though I’ve had my license since 2002. And now, I’ve just been caught twice in 15 days,” says an angry driver. I got flashed 3 times in a row, and I didn’t receive the fines until three weeks later. I can’t stand these 30 zones anymore,” says another. “It’s racketeering!”, complains another. But calmer voices also remind us of the benefit in terms of the number of road victims and the feeling of safety when cycling.

“It’s not a choice, if Brussels does nothing, it will be asphyxiated”

Anyway, how much do these fines bring in for public authorities? The answer is not too complicated to find. The federal police make no secret of the amounts paid by motorists who were too heavy-handed.

Half a billion euros

For the whole country, 6,158,323 fines were issued to drivers for speeding in 2022 (compared to around 4.43 million in 2019, before the pandemic and confinement). It is estimated that these fines generated more than half a billion euros in revenue for the state. The police were unable to communicate the distribution of these revenues between the Regions and the municipalities – which set up the radars. But what is certain is that most of the revenue linked to fines is intended to improve road safety, in this case to finance “common project funds”, redistributed to all entities. In short: these funds are used to purchase equipment and improve infrastructure which allows… speeding to be detected more effectively and fined.

Of this amount, Brussels obviously takes its share. A share which has increased since the generalization, in 2021, of zone 30 throughout the territory of the Belgian capital. Of the nearly 400,000 fines imposed in 2022, the largest number come from zones 30. There are more than 222,400 fines issued for these zones, including 153,000 for excesses ranging from 11 to 20 km/h above of the limit and more than 46,000 for excesses ranging from 1 to 10 km/h above the limit.

If we count 76 euros on average for speeding violations recorded exclusively in zone 30, we arrive at nearly 17 million euros in fines, in Brussels alone, and more than 46 million at the national level.

Number of speeding violations observed in Brussels in 2022

Figures which increased in particular following the period of confinement linked to the pandemic, which had also caused revenues to fall for the State. From there to fining everything to make up for the shortfall? Difficult to prove. However, the State does not hide and actually claims to have tightened the screws – also in zone 30 – and increased the means to reprimand speeding offenders. In addition, the implementation of section speed cameras in recent years further increases the number of fines. They are also deemed to be more effective for road safety, as motorists do not slam on their brakes when approaching a radar which simply flashes at a specific point.

These same radars might also themselves be replaced by intelligent, much cheaper cameras, which are starting to be deployed. These can scan license plates and calculate the average speed on trajectories more complex than straight lines. But data management, respect for privacy, reliability during unfavorable weather and possible hacking still slow down their deployment a little.

Finally, if section radars cause a feeling of security among some residents, they annoy others, particularly in Flanders, where certain signs announcing them have been removed. In Brussels, these are a priori always announced, just like in Wallonia. The Walloon Region “has the principle of announcing and reporting permanent speed cameras. The wish is to warn users that they risk being checked at these locations which are sensitive areas of the road network in terms of road safety. The objective is not to fine or surprise motorists with these checks, but is to get users to respect the speed limit,” explained the Walloon Minister of Road Safety to Parliament in 2022, to avoid the anger of “drivers”.

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