Those who present their vehicles late because of long waiting times at technical inspection centers in Flanders will soon no longer be fined. This was announced by Flemish Minister for Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD). This is a temporary measure. When the problems in the car inspection sector are over, there will be no more exemptions.

GOCA Flanders, the federation representing the six recognized inception bodies, also proposed yesterday, at the minister’s request, an action plan against the long waiting times at the inspection centers. Among other things, the federation wants a maximum waiting time of half an hour at car inspections.

Refund for fine possible

Waiting times at car inspections in Flanders are not a new phenomenon. On the contrary, they are getting longer and longer, which means that people who receive their invitation to go to the inspection sometimes cannot make an appointment before their inspection certificate expires. This, in turn, results in untested vehicles and a possible safety problem on the road.

Minister Peeters ordered an audit of the operation of the car inspection centers after several complaints. And she also came up with the proposition of having the (second) inspection carried out by garage owners. Based on the results of that audit, the minister is now adjusting the inspections and implementing a number of additional measures to make them less customer unfriendly.

For instance, fines will no longer be issued to someone who goes to the inspection too late because that person could not make an appointment sooner due to the long waiting times. The adjustment is currently under discussion. Once it takes effect, drivers who have already been fined can apply for a refund.

Simpler inspection process

The inspection process has also become simpler since May. “A number of defects that used to give rise to a mandatory repair and re-inspection within 15 days now only give rise to a repair and only an inspection at the next periodic inspection”, explains Peeters.

These include, for example, a missing registration certificate, mudguard, or vehicle identification information. Furthermore, there will no longer be a check as to whether there is a warning triangle in the car.

Almost 500 000 cars were late

GOCA Flanders has seen a 7,3% increase in the number of inspections since 2019. The number of re-inspections went up 10,5% in that period. The figures also show that a total of 2 115 970 passenger cars were inspected in 2022, of which 477 820 were late.

Of the drivers who presented their car late, 317 635 did so within one month of the inspection certificate expiring (66,5%). In the first month, the fine for such a late presentation is now 9,70 euros. In 2022, that totaled 3 081 059 euros in fines.

The problem is also getting worse. In 2022, for instance, there was a whopping 63% increase over 2019 for drivers who presented themselves less than one month late to the inspection.

Action plan and four new inspection centers

The inspection process, therefore, needs to be more efficient, GOCA Flanders believes. On Thursday, at the request of Minster Peeters, the federation proposed an action plan against the long waiting times at the inspection centers. With the plan, the sector federation hopes to reduce waiting times to a maximum of ten minutes for an appointment and half an hour for those presenting without an appointment.

GOCA Flanders wants to eliminate eight steps in the inspection process to optimize it more. Thus, since the beginning of May, there is already no more checking of the warning triangle in the car, and from June, inspectors will no longer check the insurance certificate and the elastic impact block. Some of these changes are also reflected in Minister Peeters’ reforms.

Furthermore, GOCA Flanders wants to focus on staff recruitment and customer communication. For example, the reminder card will soon be sent out not one but two months before the final inspection date. there will also be more inspection capacity, including expanding the number of existing centers with four new inspection centers in Laarne, Tielt, Hechtel-Eksel, and Nazareth. By December next year, all measures should be in place.