The Brussels government is to give a 1,5 million euros grant to Brussels police zones to make road safety an absolute priority within policing. The additional grant should lead to more enforcement, among other things.

The police zone Brussels-Capital-Elsene/Ixelles can count on just under 430 000 euro in subsidies. For the other five zones, it is over 214 000 euros.

Tighter enforcement policy

Minister for Mobility and Road Safety Elke Van den Brandt (Goren) is working towards vision zero in Brussels, which means zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. “To this end, we are investing in infrastructure and raising awareness, but also in enforcement. The police zones are crucial partners for this”, the minister says.

Van den Brandt points out that enforcement is an important pillar of road safety policy, including driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, excessive or inappropriate speed, or driving an uninsured vehicle. Consequently, the subsidies will mainly serve to sharpen the enforcement policy further.

More mobile checks

Excessive or inappropriate speed is one of the main causes of accidents and a factor in increasing accident severity. Although speed camera checks have a strong impact, they cannot in themselves bring about generalized moderation of speed.

Therefore, mobile checks are also needed, which incidentally are best done with an interception to confront the offender with the consequences of the offense directly, Van den Brandt says.

The subsidies can therefore be used for, among other things, the purchase of two-wheeled vehicles equipped for mobile controls and equipment for drivers; bicycles and equipment for bicycle brigades; mobile repressive radars; mobile preventive radars; fixed preventive radars; mobile ANPR radars; mobile axle weighers; alcohol measurement devices and accessories, payment terminals, and road safety awareness material.

More than 35 million excessive speed checks

In 2022, the Brussels-Capital-Elsene/Ixelles police zone checked 36 826 882 vehicles for speeding. Of these, 100 343 were ticketed. In the fight against drunk driving, 70 549 drivers were checked last year. Of these, 2 195 were fined for alcohol behind the wheel and 286 for driving under the influence of drugs. 455 driving licenses were immediately revoked for 15 days because of alcohol and 165 because of narcotics.