October 09, 2024
According to a new online survey by VSV (Vlaamse Stichting Verkeerskunde), one out of five youngsters feels forced to answer calls or messages while driving. Using a cell phone while driving is legally prohibited unless the device is in a suitable holder. A new campaign and additional police checks should raise awareness about distractions in […]
October 04, 2024
According to data from traffic institute Vias, the number of seriously injured cyclists is increasing year after year. In 2022, 7,300 cyclists ended up in hospital after an accident, ten percent more than in 2016. Cyclists are also the only group of road users where the number of seriously injured people is increasing. According to […]
October 01, 2024
The Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR) reports that about 72% of Walloon motorists do not know how to correctly apply the ‘safety corridor’ rule or the emergency lane, even though it has been in the Belgian highway code for four years. The organization is launching an information campaign to remind road users of this principle. […]
September 30, 2024
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has won her battle: the planned 50 km/h speed limit will be introduced on part of the Paris ring road tomorrow and will apply everywhere there from October 10. New French Transport Minister François Durovray “regrets the decision, which will affect millions of Île-de-France residents.” But Durovray, who threatened to scrap […]
September 24, 2024
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to introduce a speed limit of 50 km/hour on the Paris Ring Road from October 1st. Whether it will come to that remains to be seen because brand-new Transport Minister François Durovray says he is unconvinced about the project. “I think this is not a decision that the […]
September 13, 2024
Belgian rail network manager Infrabel has launched a new VR movie to ask young people to be careful around railroads. After all, a recent survey showed that 48% of Belgians are willing to walk on the tracks even though safety rules are generally known. In 2023, this led to eleven deaths and nine serious injuries […]
September 13, 2024
Heavy goods vehicles (HGV), increasingly seen on European roads, still represent only 3% of the vehicles but are involved in almost 15% of all EU road fatalities. That’s the main reason why Euro NCAP starts (crash-)testing heavy trucks this autumn to give them a bronze, silver, or gold safety rating. These ratings focus at the […]
September 10, 2024
From October 1st, only 50 km/hour may be driven on the Paris Ring Road. The news was already announced last year, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has officially confirmed the speed limit. Remarkably, for the measure intended to reduce pollution for more than half a million inhabitants, Hidalgo is not awaiting the advice of the […]
August 26, 2024
According to a recent Vias Road Safety Institute study, parents play a decisive role in how 5th- and 6th-grade students perceive traffic. Parents usually decide the means of transport – often the car – for practical reasons, fearing that their child or other road users will not comply with the traffic rules or that their […]
August 22, 2024
Brussels has 13,175 people on the waiting list to park their bikes in a secure bike park or box, 701 more than in February of this year, reports the Brussels news site BRUZZ. Parking.brussels has installed new bike boxes here and there over the past months, but the demand for bike parking continues to grow. […]
August 21, 2024
Japan’s Ministry of Transport wants to introduce a new in-car system to tackle wrong-way driving on highways, targeting zero fatalities and injuries by 2029. As Japan faces an ever-increasing number of elderly drivers, authorities have called on Japan’s automotive and technology industries to create and implement new safety systems to prevent accidents caused by cars […]
August 19, 2024
Major renovation works on the Craeybeckx tunnel on the E19 highway started on Sunday evening in Antwerp. The tunnel will receive LED lighting and a new ventilation system, and the high- and low-voltage installation will undergo a complete overhaul. Disruption will be limited to evenings and nights, and the work will last a year. Consequently, […]
July 31, 2024
An interactive app by Brussels e-bike maker Cowboy that allows cyclists to race against each other is causing quite a stir, starting in Amsterdam. Cowboy has temporarily shut down the app with “the world’s first interactive game while driving,” to reassess its safety, but the Brussels public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation. It all […]
July 26, 2024
SPW Mobilité, the Public Service for Walloon Mobility, is completing a study on the creation of a network of cycle routes in Walloon Brabant, writes the newspaper L’Avenir. The initiative was developed in consultation with the province, 27 municipalities, and stakeholders, such as the cycling association Gracq and NMBS/SNCB. Compared to Flanders, Wallonia lags in […]
July 23, 2024
Belgian police issued 8,420,303 traffic violations last year, or 10,6% more than in 2022. That accounts for a new record. Four out of five cases involved speeding; compared to 2022, 11,8% more speeding drivers were caught. Police attribute the rising figures to the higher number of intelligent ANPR cameras, especially the higher number of average […]
July 04, 2024
According to the environmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E), the number of dangerous Dodge Rams on European roads is “disturbingly high and continues to rise”. In 2023, about 5,000 new Dodge Rams were imported into Europe, up 20% from the previous year. There are now at least 20,000 Dodge Rams on European roads. The EU […]
June 26, 2024
According to Statbel, the Belgian statistics office, 501 people lost their lives in accidents on Belgian roads in 2023. Accident figures also decreased again last year after increasing in 2021 and 2022. Also striking: the number of accidents fell more sharply in Brussels than in the rest of the country. Last year, there were 36,855 […]
June 18, 2024
Infrabel has pushed a new bicycle and pedestrian tunnel under the Leuven-Aarschot-Hasselt railway line in Langdorp. Final work on the tunnel still needs to be finished, but cyclists and pedestrians will be able to use it by the end of this year. This weekend, the tunnel was moved into place using a unique sliding system, […]
June 13, 2024
With the stalemate between the liberal MR party and Groen, the two big winners in the French and Dutch language groups in Brussels of the national elections, it looks like the Good Move mobility plan will become the topic of the municipal elections in October. MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez is determined that Good Move must […]
June 10, 2024
According to a new study by Vias Institute, failure to correctly give the right of way is involved in one in three serious cycling accidents in Flanders. Responsibility for the accident lies as often with the cyclist as with the other road user. And two-thirds of accidents are largely due to human error. Still, according […]
June 05, 2024
The current Belgian road code, which is some half a century old, will be modernized from 1 September 2026. This news was already known, but with the king signing the text yesterday, the new traffic rules are now officially in place. The new modern code gives everyone a fairer place on public roads – read: […]
May 31, 2024
At the demand of Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters, the Flemish government has consented to a five-year pilot project allowing approved repairers to proceed to certain car re-inspections. The project aims to reduce the waiting lines and times at the official inspection centers. After evaluation, another 5 years can be added. The Minister expects that […]
May 31, 2024
The five Flemish provincial governments have launched ‘fietsbarometer.be’, a website offering all information on cycling data. With the site, they want to map all existing and future cycling initiatives and gain better insight into the cost of investments in cycling infrastructure and road safety. Four themes On the website, you can choose from four themes: […]
May 31, 2024
Over a quarter of fatal road accidents in Flanders and Wallonia are due to off-road obstacles such as trees, traffic poles, and crash barriers, according to an annual analysis by mobility organization Touring reported by the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. In 2022, it was 77 out of 282 road deaths in Flanders and 77 out […]
May 28, 2024
The Brussels city council wants the Brussels Region to take measures against noise from amplified engines and exhaust pipes in the capital’s streets. To this end, the city council approved a resolution by Councilor Mathias Vanden Borre (N-VA) on the issue. According to the World Health Organization, noise is the second biggest environmental cause of […]
May 28, 2024
Those planning an electrified car holiday for the upcoming summer must plan their trip when visiting Greek islands. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) have imposed new safety guidelines on electric and hybrid vehicles traveling on ferries, which Greece has adopted as restrictions. For safety reasons, electric […]
May 27, 2024
Last year, 59 accidents were caused by ignoring red lights in Brussels. From 1 June, Brussels will launch a new awareness campaign, “Do you think 1 minute before the red light is too long?” to call on motorists, cyclists, steppers, and pedestrians alike to obey traffic rules and respect traffic lights. Vulnerable road users are […]
May 20, 2024
Track runners and incidents at level crossings cause more than 12 hours of delays every day on the entire Belgian rail network. To improve safety at level crossings and train punctuality, rail network manager Infrabel is now using artificial intelligence (AI). By the end of this year, 70-level crossings will be equipped with AI cameras […]
May 16, 2024
Of the approximately 1.2 million streetlights along Flemish roads, some 640,000 have now received LED lighting. By the end of 2028, all streetlights in the Flemish cities and municipalities should have LEDs. “Switching to LED lamps will provide energy savings of as much as 30% – or 30.876 tons of CO2 – compared to 2015 […]
May 16, 2024
Lantis and contractor consortium TM Roco have started the construction of the channel tunnels between the future Oosterweel junction, located on the right bank of Antwerp near the Noordkasteel, and the Antwerp Ring Road. The tunnels, which start at the America Dock and run under the Albert Canal, should be ready by 2030 and form […]
May 14, 2024
These days, it is best to avoid the Leonard intersection on the Brussels Ring with the E411 highway and an even broader area around it in Tervuren. Due to the work on the Leonard Tunnel, there is a lot of traffic congestion around the tunnel complex, which will cause you to lose at least one […]
May 13, 2024
Last year, almost 1.2 million cars were presented for technical inspection in Wallonia. According to statistics from the Public Service of Wallonia, Mobility, and Infrastructure, 20% of them came later than the expiry date of the inspection certificate. On average, Walloons were 58 days late; in 2019, for example, it was 55 days. Different problems […]
May 13, 2024
Boulevard Charles Quint in Brussels is to be transformed into a city boulevard with more greenery and cycle paths. Brussels Mobility has applied for planning permission to do so. The avenue, which runs from the commune of Berchem-Sainte-Agathe through Ganshoren to the Basilica of Koekelberg, is an important but unattractive access route to the capital. […]
May 09, 2024
Electronics chain MediaMarkt, which opened its first European ‘Urban Mobility Store’ in Antwerp on Tuesday, is selling a racing e-scooter that reaches 70 km/h. Such devices are not allowed on public roads in Belgium, where the maximum speed is 25 km/h. However, the electric chain claims that such a device is “ideal for commuting,” says […]
May 08, 2024
Despite prevention campaigns and an apparent increase in the number of people killed on the road in 2024, aggressive behavior, insults, and stress still prevail among European drivers. These are the conclusions of the 14th ‘Barometre de la Conduite Responsable’, a study by market research company Ipsos, published on Tuesday by the French foundation Vinci […]
May 03, 2024
Research center Imec and eXia, a spin-off of the VUB (University Brussels), have developed the ‘Active Side Guard Blind Spot Sensor’, a revolutionary warning system that should prevent blind spot accidents involving trucks. Last year, the number of fatal blind spot accidents increased by 10% to a record level of 136 casualties. For comparison, in […]
May 03, 2024
One of the speakers at the Automotive eMotion Summit organized by sector federation Febiac a few months ago was Georges Massing, who is working for Mercedes-Benz on autonomous driving and the integration of this in the car. Massing is Vice-President MB.OS Autonomous Driving and E/E Integration. In his contribution, Massing put great emphasis on safety. […]
April 29, 2024
Last year, 5,317 Flemish people took a fit-to-drive test at the CARA center. Almost fourteen percent of them received negative driving advice, meaning that even with car adjustments or driver license restrictions, they could no longer participate safely in traffic. CARA, a subdivision of the traffic institute Vias, is the Test Center for Fitness to […]
April 26, 2024
The Council of State is blowing the Brussels government the whistle over its decision to limit the number of shared e-scooters, according to newspapers La Libre Belgique and La Dernière Heure. Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) reacted with disappointment but was delighted that the Council did uphold the drop zones and fines […]
April 24, 2024
E-bikes are popular among the elderly, and the number of Belgians buying them is rising. Still, you better use a helmet when you get on your e-bike. According to a recent study from Zurich, the injuries you can suffer in a fall or accident are even more comparable to those of motorcyclists rather than conventional […]
April 19, 2024
In 2023, 30% of Belgians received a traffic fine, the vast majority for a speeding offense. A survey conducted by Traffic Safety Institute Vias now shows that two out of three drivers do adjust their driving behavior after receiving a speeding ticket. The Federal Highway Police and local police are also organizing the twentieth-speed camera […]
April 19, 2024
The police zone of Ghent has started testing the feasibility of electric drivelines for intervention vehicles. As of today, one anonymous and one stripped Volkswagen ID.4 are patrolling the streets of the city, not only to monitor safety but also to gather feedback on operational viability. ‘Politiezone Gent Conceptcar EPV’ reads a sticker on the […]
April 15, 2024
Ecolo, the French-speaking Green party in Belgium, remains behind its choice for 100 kph on motorways in Belgium. At the Flemish Green Party, the proposal is no longer to be found in the 2024 election program. Coalition partner Ecolo does want to go full steam ahead with it, writes the newspaper La Dernière Heure, but […]
April 12, 2024
In Paris, the bicycle has overtaken the car as a means of transport and is now behind walking and public transport. According to a survey by the Paris Region Institute (IPR), conducted at the request of some 15 public and private institutions, Parisians use bicycles more, chosen for 11,2% of intramural trips, than cars, with […]
April 10, 2024
The business newspaper De Tijd reports that drivers of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn received a record number and amount of traffic fines last year. Altogether, 2,531 traffic violations were recorded, accounting for a fine amount of over 173,000 euros. Compared with 2022, the previous record year, the number of offenses recorded is […]
April 10, 2024
After an accident in San Francisco caused Cruise to suspend its operations with its robotaxi fleet nationwide, it announced that it would restart driving on public roads. However, GM’s subsidiary is straightening its back carefully, as this first batch of vehicles is equipped with a driver on board. Cruise has chosen Phoenix as the gateway […]
April 10, 2024
The Roads and Traffic Agency reports that additional work has unexpectedly emerged during the renovation of the Leonard Tunnel in Tervuren. From 16 April, these will cause serious disruption to traffic and residents of the Brussels and Flemish municipalities around the site. The Auderghem municipality and the Brussels Region have called on the Flemish authorities […]
April 08, 2024
In their quest to squeeze as much range as possible from their electric models, automakers have launched a trend towards flush door handles. They are sleek and aerodynamic, but the German automobile club ADAC points to safety risks witnessed in real-life incidents. Tesla popularised them and introduced pop-out door handles in 2012 as one of […]
April 08, 2024
With the arrival of spring, many motorcyclists are also jumping back on their bikes. Road Safety Institute Vias wants to warn motorbike enthusiasts about all kinds of distractions on their bikes, such as helmets with built-in infotainment systems. Although there is no evidence that such systems can contribute to road accidents, Vias nevertheless calls for […]
April 04, 2024
The European Union wants to work on improving cycling infrastructure among its member states and wants to make (electric) cycling more attractive. This is stated in the “European Declaration on the Use of Bicycles,” signed by the EU’s three central legislative institutions on Wednesday. “Cycling has numerous benefits: it reduces pollution and traffic congestion and […]
April 03, 2024
The car is still the preferred mode of transport for families in Flanders, and the train remains an uninviting option. This is according to the latest family poll of the Gezinsbond, an independent family organization that surveyed 1,072 families. Those same families also want safer cycle routes to school and find De Lijn’s new bus […]
March 29, 2024
Carmakers face a million-euro debacle as telecom operators plan to shut down the 2G network, enabling the compulsory safety system eCall. Considered outdated and inefficient, replacing 2G might trigger a recall for over 36 million cars. Who will pay for the upgrade? In Europe, mobile operators are gearing up to shut down their 2G networks, […]
March 18, 2024
Eight in ten Walloons think cohabiting among road users is problematic, and four in ten say it has deteriorated recently. This is according to a survey conducted by the Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR) on aggressiveness and irritating behavior in traffic. One consequence is that traffic aggression is also on the rise, and consequently, the […]
March 13, 2024
According to Vias’ latest traffic safety barometer, based on figures from the federal police, there were 7% fewer road deaths last year than in 2022. Last year, 483 people died in traffic, compared to 520 in 2022. The Vias Institute is a Belgian knowledge center that aims to improve road safety, mobility, and social safety. […]
March 12, 2024
Amsterdam is considering introducing an innovative adaptive speed governance solution for e-bikes. The system is intended to remotely slow down the speed of electric bicycles as they approach the city center. Amsterdam’s Alderwoman, Melanie Van der Horst (D66), recently inaugurated a system demonstration. The initiative specifically tackles the challenges of congested bike lanes, aiming to […]
March 11, 2024
In 2024, there will be 41 major road construction works on the Flemish highways for an investment of 902 million euros, not including Oosterweel. “The interventions are very diverse,” says Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). “They range from renewing the road surface to the installation of noise barriers, the […]
March 08, 2024
European vehicle safety non-profit Euro NCAP has unveiled plans for a new safety score 2026 that will include an assessment of the ease of use of essential controls. Cars that force drivers to use touch controls for features like wipers and indicators will be punished and risk the all-important five-star safety rating. The auto industry […]
March 08, 2024
People often say that women are lousy drivers, but statistics show just the opposite: almost eight in ten road deaths are men. Women are less likely to be involved in serious accidents than men and are generally also less likely to be severely injured in accidents (40% compared to 60% of men). However, it is […]
March 07, 2024
Infrabel has started work in Bilzen to remove all railway crossings in the city’s territory. Seven train crossings will be eliminated and made safer this way. They will be replaced by mobility alternatives, such as bridges (2), tunnels (4), a parallel road, and two sections of bicycle highway. The level crossings will only be closed […]
March 01, 2024
The European Parliament has agreed on a new set of regulations concerning driver’s licenses. One of the plans is to increase the weight limit of electric light commercial vehicles to 4.25 tons to compensate for the loss of payload due to heavy battery packs. But new exam rules, digital licenses, and stricter rules for young […]
