This summer, you may go on vacation in Belgium. But beware of these traps on the road that can cost you dearly!
You are planning a car getaway this summer with our neighbors in Belgium ? Good idea. But, to avoid unpleasant surprises on the road that could come to taint your stay, it is better that you are informed in advance of the peculiarities of the highway code specific to each country. Overview of Rules to know…
Watch out for regulatory differences during the holidays
By crossing our borders, the absence of customs helping, we ride confident, assuming that the road regulations are generally identical to ours, European harmonization obliges. It would be forgetting the local rules which can quickly cost the one who ignores them. And between the often lower speed limitations, radars, vignettes to wear on certain highways, traffic restrictions … It is easy to transgress them unwittingly and spoil the tourist journey.
And do not think safe from the obligation to adjust your fines if you are “prusted” to our neighbors. If you are controlled on the spot by the police for an offense or an offense, you will have to assume local financial sanctions. On the other hand, there is not yet harmonization between the point permit systems … but it must change by 2030: a foreign driver involved in a serious accident will be able to lose his license in his country of origin.
Road traps in Belgium
As in our territory, the Repressive panoply in Belgium is rather extensive. Their fixed radars, fires, autonomous, mobile or section (our “sections” or average speed radars) have nothing to envy to ours. French motorists tend to neglect this fact, and to forget that the maximum speed authorized on motorways is 120 km/h in this country and not 130 km/h! Other particularity: The “Tirete”. To streamline circulation near a traffic jam, when a circulation strip closes, drivers must let the vehicles fall in alternately, which reduces the queues. Do not comply with the tank exposes to a fine of € 58 + administrative costs.
Another trap in Belgium: the Reduced emission zones (Lez) in force in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. Here, no national sticker. You have to register your vehicle in advance on the city’s website to visit (it’s free), under penalty of a fine of € 150 per day. Also beware of parking in paid tourist areas on Sundays and holidays, like near the Atomium in Brussels. Foreigners holding a parking card for disability, or owners of a vehicle suitable for wheelchairs or an electric car, benefit from an exemption. However, they must first fill out a form on the city’s website to visit.
You now know the traps and Specificities of the highway code in Belgium. Good preparation before your departure on vacation can avoid many problems with the local order forces!
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