Last year, the number of road fatalities in Flanders fell by 9%. However, the Flemish Region still had the most accidents (62%), compared to Brussels (11%), and Wallonia (27%). The figures come from Flanders Statistics (Statistiek Vlaanderen).

Among the victims is a growing percentage of vulnerable road users, mainly cyclists. In addition, there are still many accidents involving e-scooters. The explanation for it is obvious. “There are simply more cyclists and e-scooter users,” says Stef Willems, spokesperson for traffic safety institute Vias.

Flanders does better

Traffic deaths have halved since 2005, and the decline continued last year, from 310 victims in 2021 to 282 in 2022. Apart from that, 2 389 cases of seriously injured people were registered.

However, statistics for Brussels and Wallonia are less optimistic. In both regions, the number of traffic deaths last year increased. So, Flanders is doing relatively better. According to the Walloon Agency for Road Safety (l’Agence Walonne pour la Sécurité Routière, AWSR), one in ten road fatalities is drug-related.

Aim for sharper decline

Still, there’s room for improvement. And according to Stef Willems, we need to aim for an even sharper decline. After all, Belgium would like to see the total number of road deaths reduced to 320 by 2030.