The goal is to make road safety a priority, and zone 30 is at the center of the system. « We must appease the city, improve the well-being of residents, secure traffic, reduce noise (by 50%), reduce pollution, » justifies the minister.

From January 1st, 2021, the 30 km/hour will become the rule on all the territory of the Region, with the exception of major structuring axes where the 50 km/h will apply (even 70 km/h in some sections). « In Brussels, the driver will know that, unless otherwise stated, he can not exceed 30 km/h. It is the opposite of what is happening today where the 30 is the exception.

This zone 30 will be more controlled and motorists who do not respect it will also be more sanctioned. To do this, new radars will be added to the existing fleet and the capacity to process fines will increase from 200,000 to 350,000 per year. The minister also plans to make improvements to roads to slow down.

The 30 « black spots », areas of concentration of accidents on the territory of the Region, will all be resolved under this legislature, promises Ms. Van den Brandt.

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The police are keen to stress the existence of alternative means of transportation, such as taxis, public transport, or the use of designated drivers.

In addition to raising awareness of the dangers of drink-driving, the police also want to increase the chances of anyone driving under the influence being caught “through an integrated approach, and the deployment of different means throughout the country,” the federal police said in a statement.

The previous “no drink-driving weekend” took place in mid-January. Nearly 35,000 drivers were checked, of whom 1.8% tested positive for drugs or being over the alcohol limit.

The post Belgian Police to organise another “no drink-driving weekend” appeared first on Brussels Express.

Lime has more than 100,000 users in the Belgian capital who, collectively, have clocked up more 500,000 individual trips. But the un-civic behaviour of some of its users – for instance, the driving of its scooters on pavements – has provoked a fierce debate between supporters and detractors of Lime’s business framework and indeed scooter use more generally.

“In order to promote the rules of conduct and safety among members of the Lime community and future users, the company is organizing a meeting on Saturday, April 27 at Place Flagey in Ixelles from 4 pm,” the company accounced in a statement. “Users will be made aware of the proper use of electric scooters and will be invited to sign a ‘Charter of Good Conduct’, which contains six key principles to follow in order to travel safely. Moreover, in order to encourage road safety Lime will also be distributing 750 free helmets.”

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Will all future radars be designed as long span radars? It is a question worth pondering over, as this technology might tackle the issues related to ‘one-shot radars’.

In case you did not know, this new type of radars –which aims to record whether drivers exceed the speed limit over a certain distance– has been introduced in some European countries as of late.

Belgium is no exception in this regard, and the Brussels authorities have set up such a system a couple of months ago on the Leopold III Boulevard. The project has been quite successful, as the number of traffic offences has significantly decreased.

It seems that now the local authorities aim to go further, as a new one will be introduced on Avenue Louise in February. More concretely, the long span radar will cover the segment between Bailli and Stéphanie (870 meters). The location is not meaningless, as the policemen regularly report traffic offenses on this section. More than 60% of the drivers do not comply with the speed limit (50 km/h).

A deal has been found between the regional and local authorities last week, and it will enter into force in the upcoming weeks.

“More road safety is one of the Brusselians’ expectations; it is then obvious to strengthen it. I would like to thank the different competent levels for their effective collaboration,” said Philippe Close, the Mayor of Brussels, stated. Although many drivers complain about the controls, one cannot deny the consistent non-compliance of the speed limits in the core network.

This new system of radars therefore appears to be relevant.

The post New long span radar to be installed on Avenue Louise appeared first on Brussels Express.

One of these changes is that a first-aid training will be mandatory from now on. Provided by the Red Cross, the first-aid training is intended to prepare future drivers to be able to provide proper care before the ambulance arrives, in case of an accident.

The driving-license preparation will be divided into two parts: a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical one can be followed at home as it is transmitted electronically. After passing the theoretical exam, candidates are free to choose between four different streams, those being the free mixed school/driving school, direct access to the exam after 30 hours of driving school, free path and driving school. The practical part consists of three hours and can be followed in groups of 20 maximum.

In addition to the first aid training, a risk perception test is also required as part of the practical part of the test. Candidates should be able to identify potential hazards in different situations.

The post Strict new requirements to acquire a driver’s license include mandatory first-aid training appeared first on Brussels Express.

The Lucky Campers is a new project, started by a young couple who love adventures, nature and discoveries.

Louis and Rusty are their vans which are available for renting, in order for you to discover the pleasure of traveling in a van. You can plan your own trip, board one of the vans, stop whenever you want and plan your own stay. This is an opportunity to discover Belgium’s forests, canals, warm dunes, as well as the local gastronomy.

If you’ve feel like you’ve already seen all of Belgium, feel free to cross the borders as the insurance covers you all over Europe.

Louis is a 1986 Volkswagen T3 which has been recently restored while making sure to retain its authenticity. It allows for a comfortable stay of 2 people. Louis is equipped with a kitchen, two gas burners, a sink with a reserve of cold water, a fridge, a table, cupboards as well as other essential kitchen utensils.

Rusty, on the other hand, dates back to 1987 and can comfortably fit up to 4 people. It is also equipped as Louis, but it has 2 more armchairs.

Both vans are also equipped with radios and a selection of maps and touristic booklets.

Are you already imagining your next trip?  Find out more

The post Fancy a van-trip across Belgium and beyond in a Lucky Camper? appeared first on Brussels Express.

This is why some countries have set up radars that can sense the car speed over a long distance. The idea is quite simple. The radar makes sure the drivers do not exceed the speed limit over a specific distance. Unfortunately, this will not settle the whole issue of car accidents and road fatalities, but it could be an efficient instrument as long as it minimizes the occurrence of such accidents.

Belgium, and Brussels specifically, are no exception in this regard. The Brussels authorities have unveiled the first long span radar (radar tronçon) in the region of Brussels-Capital. In case you’re used to driving through Leopold III Boulevard, then you should be careful. It is about complying with the maximum speed limit (50 km/h) for a stretch of 663 meters for those who enter the city, and 813 meters for those who exit it.

To be more concrete, the checkups are made from Général Wahis Boulevard (Schaerbeek) to Avenue des Loisirs (Evere). “In this area, we have increased the number of fees about 60% in comparison to last year,” Bernard Clerfayt, mayor of Schaerbeek, stated.

The authorities are convinced that the number of fines will increase over the upcoming months.

It is however not about making money, it is about reducing the number of car crashes and saving lives. “The radar section allows to improve road safety and reduce noisy disturbances,” Biance Debaets, the State Secretary in charge of road safety, said.

Although this type of speed control has only begun in Brussels, the local authorities aim to set up additional ones. It seems that a long span radar might be added in Stéphanie tunnel soon, Ms Debaets mentioned.

The post Long-span radars have been installed in Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

This means both the 310 BMW and MINI are now parked everywhere in a 65 km2 zone; the largest free-floating area in Brussels.

The added areas means you can now pick-up or drop-off your DriveNow in various streets in Molenbeek, Koekelberg, Anderlecht, and a zone right in front of NATO’s office.

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Reservations can be made for either BMW or the MINI through the app and the car can be left in any legal parking spot within those zones.

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It’s time for road works (again!). In case you have not noticed yet, some parts of Brussels (Jourdan, Parvis, Louise etc.) are currently subject to road works. Leopold II tunnel is no exception.

As of 1^st May, works have started in the longest Belgian tunnel. Although it will not last decades, the process will be quite long, as there will be works for 39 months. It will cost about EUR 264.7 million, but the region will spend about EUR 460 million in total for maintenance.

The aim of such works is to adapt the tunnel to the EU safety standards.

How much will you be impacted by the works?

By 30^th June, Leopold II tunnel will be partially closed. You will indeed have no access to it from 10.00 pm to 6.00 am from Thursday to Sunday. It will however not be closed on Friday and Saturday, as the local authorities found appropriate to allow the users to take it to go to and go back from parties. This first step is essentially about removing asbestos the infrastructure.

From 1^st July to 31^st August, Leopold II tunnel will be completely closed over the day, in order to conduct the main works on the traffic routes. During this period, the Charles Quint avenue will be redesigned with only one traffic route, and the other one will be accessible only to buses and bikes. Even if these works can make your journeys more complicated, not to worry. Both the STIB and the SNCB have planned to reinforce their daily traffic to face the issues that could appear.

After the summer break, the tunnel will be closed only at night until the next summer, when strict measures will apply again.

The post Works at Leopold II tunnel appeared first on Brussels Express.

Should you plan to take the exam in Brussels over the upcoming months, you will be subject to the new changes in the theory test.

The new system will be similar to the ones in Wallonia and in Flanders. First of all, the number of questions haven’t changed, you will still need to answer 50 of them. The mistakes are however now classified into two categories: some of them lie within “slight mistakes”, while others are considered “serious mistake”.

To pass the exam, the candidate is required to get 41 points out of 50. If you make a slight mistake, one point is withdrawn. But if you make a serious mistake, you lose five points. To be clear, you can only make one serious mistake before failing.

And now, if the candidates fail twice in a row, they must attend 12 hours of compulsory lecture at the driving shcool before taking the exam again.

Another point that could be of interest to the expat community: it is possible to take the exam both in French and in Dutch. But In Brussels, you have the opportunity to request to take it in English or in German. You’ll then be supported by an interpret during the exam.

Although no changes have entered into force yet with the practical part of the driving test, these will come as of 1st November. The candidates will be offered several possibilities to be trained on driving. And some courses on first aid and risks will also be compulsory.

The post New rules for theoretical driving test appeared first on Brussels Express.