October 02, 2025
Almost half of incidents involving pedestrians occur when they are on the sidewalk, a bike path, or in a pedestrian zone, and not when they are hit while crossing the street, as is commonly expected. This is according to a new study by the Traffic Safety Institute Vias. Also noteworthy: 1 in 5 accidents or […]
September 24, 2025
A pilot project has been launched in Antwerp, in which public transport company De Lijn will use AI driver assistance systems on trams to help prevent accidents in the future. The system, developed by the Ghent technology company Otiv, was presented on Tuesday, September 23rd, in Antwerp, in the presence of Minister of Mobility Annick […]
September 19, 2025
The new tram in Liège has been in service since the end of April and is proving to be a resounding success. Although no reliable public sources are immediately available, the newspaper Le Soir reports 100,000 users per week, which would amount to more than 2 million passengers to date. The only downside is that […]
September 17, 2025
China is poised to ban retractable car door handles by 2027, following a series of fatal crashes that have exposed the dangers of a feature once hailed as a marker of futuristic design. Flush-mounted handles, popularized by Tesla and copied by numerous electric vehicle makers, are designed to sit flat against the car body until […]
September 11, 2025
While the number of occupational accidents has decreased over the past decade, accidents on the way to and from work have increased. In Belgium, more than 10,000 accidents involving ‘soft mobility’ occurred last year on the way to, from, or for work, according to an extensive study by the insurance federation Assuralia. In five years, the […]
September 08, 2025
A new traffic sign has recently (July 1st, 2025) been introduced in Spain, and it is already causing quite a stir. The sign requires drivers to maintain a 70-meter minimum distance, but that isn’t easy to estimate. And what if a car suddenly appears in front of you? In 2023, rear-end collisions on highways tragically caused […]
September 05, 2025
Never before have Belgian police registered so many traffic violations (9.2 million) as last year. That represents a 10.7 percent increase compared to the previous year, marking the highest number ever. The number of minor speeding violations, in particular, increased sharply. In total, drivers were caught speeding more than 7.6 million times, almost 13 percent more […]
September 01, 2025
Today, drivers lose their licenses for fifteen days if they exceed the 1.2 per mille limit. Starting September 1st, this will be 0.8 per mille in the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg. The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office is also considering stricter measures. Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents. Research […]
August 28, 2025
According to the Belgian Mobility Dashboard, a freely accessible platform that provides a range of essential mobility indicators for Belgium, it turns out that despite smoother traffic in the summer, Belgian roads are not safer. As in previous years, the summer months brought a noticeable decrease in traffic jams on the roads. But paradoxically, less traffic doesn’t […]
August 26, 2025
Last year, 482 children and young people were injured in traffic accidents in Brussels. The figures come from Brussels Mobility, which publishes them due to the first day of school in French-speaking education in the capital. The service reminds all road users, including drivers, cyclists, e-scooter users, and pedestrians, to be extra cautious and to […]
August 26, 2025
The EU and the US have signed a joint statement to retroactively reduce US tariffs on cars and car parts from 27.5% to 15%. The reductions were technically part of an agreement in July, but were never implemented. That will now change. After weeks of uncertainty following the political agreement between European Commission President Ursula […]
August 25, 2025
Traffic accidents remain one of the leading causes of death and injury among young people. One reason for this is that young people, especially boys, often exhibit risky behavior in traffic. A study by the Vias Institute, for example, shows that four out of ten adolescents do not always wear a seatbelt when traveling in […]
August 25, 2025
Hyundai and sister brand Kia have forged an unprecedented alliance with South Korea’s three largest battery producers in a bid to strengthen electric vehicle safety and restore the nation’s competitive edge against China’s growing dominance. At Hyundai’s Namyang R&D Center, both automakers signed a memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK […]
August 22, 2025
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn is testing a new, intelligent driving assistance system in Antwerp to warn tram drivers of potential hazards, such as pedestrians, cyclists, or obstacles on the tracks. The system uses cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI), and was developed by the Ghent-based technology company OTIV. The tests are part […]
August 21, 2025
Volkswagen is facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States over one of its most derided designs: steering wheels fitted with capacitive touch buttons. Two American customers claim the controls are beyond irritating. They are straightforwardly dangerous. The lawsuit accuses Volkswagen of knowingly selling cars with controls so sensitive that drivers could activate crucial functions […]
August 20, 2025
Tesla is reversing one of its most controversial design decisions. Two years after stripping the Model 3 of its traditional steering column stalks in the Highland refresh, the automaker is now reintroducing the turn signal lever—at least in China. The decision is not about giving customers options, but instead admitting a design flaw due to […]
August 20, 2025
As of October 1st, the city of Bruges will designate almost the entire city center as a cycling zone. The current 90 ‘bicycle streets’ will be expanded by an additional 300. Only the access roads to the city and the De Lijn route will be excluded from the expansion of the bicycle zone. This is […]
August 19, 2025
Every year, more than 360 children are involved in a traffic accident on their way to school – more than two victims per school day. That is why the Walloon Road Safety Agency (Agence Wallonne pour la Sécurité Routière, AWSR) is launching an awareness-raising campaign to prepare parents and children for their school journey. The […]
August 14, 2025
Cowboy, the Brussels-based manufacturer of trendy, usually dark black electric bikes, has always been surrounded by a certain amount of financial haze. The recall of the C4 ST (Edition MR) model in early May due to the risk of frame breakage has once again thrown the company into turmoil. There is even talk of a new […]
August 13, 2025
Fatbikes may be very popular, especially among young people, but most cities are happy to see them gone. Some Dutch cities – Enschede, Hengelo, and Amsterdam, for instance – have even considered banning these cumbersome electric bikes, and now the Belgian town of Hasselt in Limburg is also considering a ban. But what exactly is […]
August 12, 2025
The United Kingdom is considering plans to introduce a mandatory eye test for older road users to reduce road deaths and injuries. According to news media BBC and Sky News, people over 70 may face a driving ban in the future if they fail a mandatory eye test. In 2024, 1,633 people were killed in traffic and […]
August 12, 2025
Brussels is getting a new cycle highway: the C223 will connect Bockstael (Laeken) with the former Kuregem station (Anderlecht) along railway line 28, which runs between Schaerbeek station and Brussels-South. The 6.5 km long cycle and walking path, which is being constructed just now by the Brussels public works contractor Beliris, crosses five municipalities: the […]
August 08, 2025
The Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB has dismissed a train driver for posting a live video on TikTok while driving a train. This was reported by the newspaper Le Soir, among others. Or how a well-intentioned “proportional initiative”, according to the train driver, turned into a personal nightmare. According to the newspapers, the incident dates to […]
August 05, 2025
Many cities and policymakers dream of it, but few can achieve what Helsinki accomplished last year: zero traffic fatalities. The formula behind these exceptional figures is the introduction of a 30 km/hour speed limit in the city. But speed limits were certainly not the only important factor contributing to this success. The zero traffic fatalities […]
July 21, 2025
Mobility provider Bolt has published its latest Micromobility Incident Overview. The report reveals new data showing a significant drop in the number of incidents involving electric scooters in Belgium. According to the bulletin, the number of incidents in Belgium has decreased by 82% compared to the same period last year. This equates to just 0.13 incidents per […]
July 17, 2025
Walloon drivers are generally unfamiliar with the specific rules governing priority at roundabouts, also known as traffic circles. This is what the Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR) warns about. In Wallonia, about 140 accidents involving deaths and injuries occur each year at traffic circles. Cyclists and motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable in this situation because they […]
July 16, 2025
The Flemish government has reached an agreement on infrastructure investments related to mobility for the coming years. During the remaining years of the legislature, Flemish Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) plans to allocate 2.2 billion euros per year for infrastructure to boost mobility. Among the most important projects are the Limburg North-South Connection, […]
July 07, 2025
Will we soon have self-driving Teslas in Belgium? The American carmaker has already applied to the European Commission in March for approval of autonomous driving (Full Self Driving), and more specifically, supervised hands-off driving. According to the Vers L’Avenir newspaper, Federal Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), unlike his predecessor, is already in favor. […]
July 04, 2025
Flemish Minister of Mobility, Annick De Ridder (N-VA), is cancelling 72 planned section controls on regional roads. De Ridder only wants section controls at ‘black spots’, where serious accidents occur, which reduces the list to about ten of those speed checks. The decision has sparked outrage among experts. The number of section controls in Flanders has increased significantly […]
July 03, 2025
Belgian drivers active in the transport sector and emergency services can now prepare themselves for complex traffic situations in a state-of-the-art driving simulator. As it happens, the Flemish employment service VDAB has invested in four advanced truck simulators, which are housed at the Provincial Institute for Education and Training (PIVO) in Asse. The simulators are […]
July 01, 2025
As climate shifts bring more extreme weather and high-water risks, new tests by the ADAC in Germany expose an often-overlooked danger: what happens when a car plunges into water? Are electric car drivers at a higher risk than those in a combustion-engined vehicle? In the experiment, the German organization submerged two cars: a conventional Seat […]
July 01, 2025
A new observational study by the Vias traffic institute has revealed that Belgian van drivers are most often distracted by their mobile phones or other devices. On average, they are not entirely focused on traffic for 8% of the time, it turns out. The Vias researchers observed almost 20,000 drivers for a month at 161 locations […]
June 30, 2025
The pedestrian zone in the center of Brussels, between Place Fontainas and Boulevard Adolphe Max, has been in place for ten years since Sunday. The zone has since become one of the busiest in the capital, but it has also been criticized for being too focused on tourists and events, rather than on residents. Additionally, […]
June 30, 2025
BMW has to recall more than 70,000 electric vehicles in the U.S. due to a software issue with the electric motor. It could lead to a sudden loss of propulsion while driving, increasing the risk of an accident. The i4, i5, i7, and iX model series are affected. As is customary in the United States, […]
June 27, 2025
The Flemish Waterway is planning to install speed meters on towpaths. The measure is part of a ‘fun’ awareness campaign to encourage users to respect traffic and courtesy rules on the paths. Towpaths are increasingly used by walkers, joggers, cyclists, skaters, and service vehicles, all of which move at different speeds. Courtesy is, therefore, essential […]
June 25, 2025
The French government has ordered the immediate immobilization of 800,000 additional vehicles because of the presence of possibly lethal Takata airbags. All car brands are involved in the massive and urgent recall that is now needed. Last week, French car manufacturer Citroën initiated a ‘stop drive’ for all its C3 and DS3 models produced between […]
June 24, 2025
After years of bold promises and missed deadlines, Tesla has finally launched a pilot fleet of autonomous taxis in the Texas capital. But the debut has already sparked safety concerns and renewed scepticism about the company’s readiness to deliver truly self-driving vehicles. Eyebrows are already raising as this next phase in Tesla’s coming of age […]
June 23, 2025
The number of driver’s licences (type B) obtained in Flanders has been declining slightly every year since 2014. Last year, 66,415 Flemish people obtained their B driver’s licence; in 2014, this figure was still 76,730. This trend is also evident in Brussels: 10,505 driving licences last year, compared to 11,957 in 2014. In Wallonia, we see an […]
June 20, 2025
Ford has issued a global stop-sale on its electric Mustang Mach-E as it grapples with a potentially serious safety issue that may prevent the doors from unlocking, putting occupants at risk of being trapped. The recall affects nearly 317,000 vehicles spanning model years 2021 to 2025, raising fresh concerns among customers and dealers about delivery […]
June 19, 2025
The infamous Takata airbag scandal, which began in 2014, has resurfaced in the automotive world. Due to a deadly incident last week in France, Citroën is immobilizing all its C3 and DS3 models in the whole of Europe. 441,000 vehicles are concerned. Last week, a 37-year-old woman died on a French motorway near Reims in […]
June 13, 2025
Drivers of high-fronted cars are unable to see children as old as nine, tests find. The hood height of new vehicles in Europe is increasing by half a centimeter a year, on average, driven by the growth in SUV sales, new research assembled by Transport & Environment (T&E) finds. The trend is part of the […]
June 12, 2025
Hasselt University (UHasselt) and its project partners, Cegeka, OCW, Vlawebo, and Embuild Limburg, are investigating how innovative technologies can ensure better roads, safer traffic, and more sustainable mobility. They experiment with digital solutions in real-life situations, in an innovative test garden. The pilot project will use various locations in Limburg as test areas. Digital innovations “The […]
June 11, 2025
Renault and Software République are unveiling ‘vision 4rescue’, a demo car featuring a high-tech ecosystem that enables the emergency services to work more efficiently in critical situations. Featuring nearly 20 interconnected solutions, the ecosystem was designed to standardize the different technologies used by the emergency services for a faster and better-coordinated response. Based on the […]
June 10, 2025
The Antwerp hospital umbrella ‘Hospitaal aan de Stroom’ (ZAS) receives an emergency patient every eight hours due to an accident involving an e-scooter. In half of the cases, this led to an inability to work. Emergency doctors as well as the clinic and the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Studies (VSV) are asking the government to […]
June 06, 2025
Volvo’s name remains virtually interchangeable with automotive safety, and once again, the company attempts to push the boundaries of protection for road users. Its latest innovation? An artificial intelligence-powered seatbelt that promises to adapt to every driver and passenger. It can evolve through software updates (OTA) long after the car is sold. The new “multi-adaptive […]
June 05, 2025
On Limburg municipal roads where average speed checks were introduced, the number of traffic accidents fell by an average of 38% compared to the number of accidents on comparable roads without section controls. This emerges from an analysis by UHasselt researchers reported by the newspaper Het Belang van Limburg, among others. According to the researchers, […]
June 04, 2025
As in Flanders and Brussels, Wallonia now also has a network of counting points to monitor the number of cyclists. On the website cyclable.wallonie.be, the 159 counting points for both cyclists and pedestrians can be consulted. With this initiative, the region aims to refine its cycling policy, says Walloon Mobility Minister François Desquesnes (Les Engagés). […]
June 03, 2025
Brussels Mobility is launching a pilot project in Forest to test a dedicated “Kiss & Cycle” zone for parents dropping their children off at school using cargo bikes, long tails, trailer bikes, or other exceptionally large bicycles. The special strip aims to reduce the chaos often seen on sidewalks and streets during school drop-off times, […]
May 30, 2025
On June 1, 1975, the Belgian government made wearing a seat belt in the front of a car mandatory. A safety measure that significantly reduced the risk of death during car crashes, but the public needed some convincing. And even today, an alarmingly large number of road deaths come from people not wearing their seat […]
May 21, 2025
Three years after the introduction of stricter rules for e-scooters, many Belgians still do not know the most important rules. This emerges from a new representative survey by the traffic institute Vias. For example, 44% of those surveyed do not know that you must be at least 16 years old to drive an e-scooter. The […]
May 16, 2025
Waymo has recalled 1,212 self-driving vehicles in the U.S. following minor collisions with fixed roadside objects such as gates and chains. That is the majority of the company’s fleet. Strangely, the issue seems to have already been fixed. The recall is apparently due to software limitations that caused minor collisions with roadside objects such as […]
May 13, 2025
Since last week, Belgian car owners have been able to receive their official invitation for the obligatory car inspection in their eBox, an official and secure electronic mailbox used by the government. Until now, invitations to present your car (older than four years) for official inspection in one of the agreed inspection centers were mainly […]
May 09, 2025
According to the latest accident figures, 266 severe accidents with injuries occur annually in Flanders during road works on regional roads and highways–an average of five accidents at a construction site every week. Six of them are fatal. Most accidents happen in traffic jams before the construction sites or when driving past them. The ‘Rij […]
April 29, 2025
The Flemish highway network experienced its most congested year on record in 2024. Traffic jams, accident rates, and incident response demands reached unprecedented levels, according to the annual report by the Vlaams Verkeerscentrum (Flemish Traffic Center). As the body marks its 25th anniversary, it faces the challenge of managing a traffic system increasingly pushed beyond […]
April 25, 2025
The number of accidents to and from work is increasing as more and more people travel to work by (electric) bike or on foot. That’s according to figures from insurer Ethias, based on an analysis of more than 7,500 recent claim files. Such accidents also impact the workplace, as 41% of absenteeism is due to […]
April 22, 2025
Federal Public Service (FPS) Justice’s figures show that almost half a million more traffic violations were recorded last year than in 2023. The number of violations recorded increased from 6.5 million in 2023 to more than 6.9 million last year (+7%). In 2022, the number was still 6.2 million. The total amount of fines collected represents […]
April 17, 2025
According to the Central Bureau for Statistics (Centraal Bureeau voor de Statistiek, CBS), in the Netherlands, 675 people died in a traffic accident last year, among them 246 cyclists. Almost half of them (44%) rode an electric bicycle, and most (60%) died from head injuries. Cyclists form the largest group of road fatalities. It mainly […]
April 17, 2025
In Northern California, hackers have manipulated pedestrian lights’ audio to mock Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Instead of the usual ‘walk’ or ‘wait’ audio instructions that emanate from the crosswalk speakers, pedestrians hear seemingly deepfake recordings, mocking some of the titans who preside over the tech world. A series of viral videos posted […]
April 17, 2025
China, a long time forerunner in autonomous driving features tested on public roads, is tightening the screws on that technology after an accident that shocked the nation. A dramatic accident in which three young female students were killed in a Xiaomi SU7 sedan that caught fire in March, apparently, was the last straw. Carmakers are […]
April 04, 2025
Rehabilitation physicians at UZ Ghent want a bicycle helmet to become mandatory in Belgium. After all, less than a third of Belgians (29%) wear a bicycle helmet, but out of the nearly four in ten victims of injury accidents involving bicycles and speed pedelecs who ended up in a Belgian hospital in 2023 had a […]
