Drivers getting caught speeding in traffic in Flanders can request a language change when they have to appear before a judge. As a result, their file moves to a French-speaking court, resulting in a lengthy legal backlog and avoiding losing their driver’s license. In the first six months of 2022, police registered more than three million speeding offenses on Belgian roads.

The Flemish Member of Parliament, Jeroen Tiebaut (N-VA), and Federal Member of Parliament, Wouter Raskin (N-VA), call for urgent action. Because they say, “the language law offers criminals the opportunity to irresponsibly delay the course of justice”. “Anyone who violates the law in Flanders must be tried in Dutch.”

Language legislation

The two N-VA politicians want to adjust the language legislation to avoid a language change leading to too much delay in a court case. A practice that occurs frequently in the trial of traffic cases in the Brussels periphery.

According to Ine Van Wymersch, the public prosecutor of the Halle-Vilvoorde public prosecutor’s office, it should suffice that an interpreter is present, which is the case in Halle-Vilvoorde for every session with non-native speakers.

Interpreter

“The European Court has already confirmed that for all non-native speakers, the presence of an interpreter is sufficient to offer the person in question all guarantees that he can follow his process correctly.

Van Wymersch hopes that, in the interest of road safety, a two-thirds majority can be found in Parliament for an amendment to the language law so that the presence of an interpreter during the session is sufficient.

Speeding offenses

And there is more inconsistency between the different BelgaBelgian regions. In the first six months of 2022, police and cameras registered a record number – more than three million – speeding offenses on Belgian roads. However, the number of speeding drivers caught in Flanders was significantly higher than in the rest of the country.

Most speeding drivers were caught in the provinces of Antwerp and East Flanders, while the number of speeding offenses per 100 000 inhabitants was lowest in Liège: 18 500 versus 34 000 in the Flemish Region (and 14 800 in the Brussels Capital Region). In Antwerp, 41 500 speed offenses were registered per 100 000 inhabitants.

Average speed checks

An explanation for the geographic discrepancy is to be found in the stricter approach, the higher risk of being caught, and the number of average speed checks in Flanders. More than eight out of ten – 155 of the existing 186 active average speed checks – are situated on the Flemish territory. In Wallonia, hardly 25 average speed checks are operational.

And not only speeding offenses are on the rise, but also the number of drivers caught driving under the influence of alcohol is a lot higher. In the first six months of 2022, almost 23 000 Belgians were caught with too much alcohol in their blood. Almost as many as before the corona pandemic.