Every bus driver employed by the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn will have three minor traffic violations reimbursed annually. Starting with the fourth minor violation within 12 months, the driver must pay the fine themselves. More serious violations, such as driving under the influence, are the employee’s responsibility from the outset.<\/p>\n
The new regulation applies throughout Flanders. With this, De Lijn is doing away with the sometimes significant and illogical provincial differences in the handling of traffic fines that have developed over time.<\/p>\n
In 2023 – the most recent figures available – 2,532 violations were recorded among De Lijn drivers, amounting to a record total of more than 173,000 euros. However, depending on the province where they were driving, bus drivers under the old system paid a higher or lower personal share of a traffic fine after an infraction.<\/p>\n
For example, in 2024, drivers in Limburg paid nearly half of the fines themselves, while in Antwerp that figure was only 13,5%, even though De Lijn was already covering nearly three-quarters of the fines on average.<\/p>\n
In practice, therefore, the new system for traffic fines isn’t really that new – except that it marks a departure from the old system and takes into account the nature and number of violations over 12 months.<\/p>\n
Specifically, the bus driver is only required to pay out of his own pocket for the fourth minor violation – such as a speeding violation of 10 km\/h or less – within 12 months.<\/p>\n
De Lijn also covers a single violation of more than 10 km\/h, but only on the condition that the driver does not commit a second violation in the same category within the following 12 months. Otherwise, the driver must pay both the first and second fines in full.<\/p>\n
Serious violations, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or fines for using a cell phone while driving, are always 100% the responsibility of the employee.<\/p>\n
According to Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA), the new system is intended to promote “accountability.” “After all, anyone who is responsible for the safe transport of thousands of passengers every day also bears a great responsibility on the road. Road safety must always come first – for drivers, passengers, and all other road users.”<\/p>\n
However, in a comment posted on the VRT news website, the traffic institute Vias expressed skepticism about the new regulation. “A bus driver’s job is not easy, but from a road safety perspective, it is always preferable that the person who commits the violation pays the fine,” said spokesperson Stef Willems.<\/p>\n
Reimbursement of traffic fines by employers at public transportation companies is not a universal practice, but some operators – both in Belgium and abroad – do indeed offer partial reimbursement.<\/p>\n
After all, Article 67 of the Road Traffic Act stipulates that the employer is civilly liable for the fines and court costs incurred by the employee while driving, for violations committed in the course of their work. The employee remains criminally liable, and the employer has the right to recover the fine amount from the employee.<\/p>\n
Where De Lijn does stand out – the company must also pay the 33% social security solidarity contribution on top of the fine because the employer’s payment of the fine is considered wages for tax purposes – is that it communicates to the public that this is a system of “three minor violations per year.”<\/p>\n
Such a policy may indeed seem to imply that minor speeding violations are “free.” At the same time, it undermines drivers’ personal responsibility, even though the rationale is that bus drivers often operate under time pressure from tight schedules.<\/p>\n
However, for repeat offenders, an analysis of driving times and schedules should also be conducted to avoid minor violations on a structural basis. But the unions will see to that, right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every bus driver employed by the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn will have three minor traffic violations reimbursed annually. Starting with the fourth minor violation within 12 months, the driver must pay the fine themselves. More serious violations, such as driving under the influence, are the employee’s responsibility from the outset. The new regulation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":187485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[77170,7,26,31,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belgium","category-mobility","category-public-transport","category-road-safety","category-top-stories-today"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=2142%2C1474&ssl=1",2142,1474,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=300%2C206&ssl=1",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=640%2C440&ssl=1",640,440,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=640%2C441&ssl=1",640,441,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=1536%2C1057&ssl=1",1536,1057,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=2048%2C1409&ssl=1",2048,1409,true],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=18%2C12&ssl=1",18,12,true],"related-thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1",640,480,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1",400,400,true],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"mailchimp":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?fit=560%2C385&ssl=1",560,385,true],"unipress-phone":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=640%2C100&ssl=1",640,100,true],"unipress-tablet":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=1536%2C240&ssl=1",1536,240,true],"unipress-tablet-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=1536%2C180&ssl=1",1536,180,true],"unipress-tablet-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=2048%2C180&ssl=1",2048,180,true],"unipress-smartphone":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=1080%2C168&ssl=1",1080,168,true],"unipress-wide-screen":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled77-4.png?resize=2142%2C180&ssl=1",2142,180,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"
Every bus driver employed by the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn will have three minor traffic violations reimbursed annually. Starting with the fourth minor violation within 12 months, the driver must pay the fine themselves. More serious violations, such as driving under the influence, are the employee’s responsibility from the outset. The new regulation applies throughout Flanders. With this, De Lijn is doing away with the sometimes significant and illogical provincial differences in the handling of traffic fines that have developed over time. Down with the old system In 2023 – the most recent figures available – 2,532 violations…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Belgium<\/a>, Mobility<\/a>, Public transport<\/a>, Road safety<\/a>, Top Stories Today<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Luc Joris","url":"https:\/\/newmobility.news\/en\/author\/belga-5\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"\n