Starting tomorrow, prosecutors from Leuven and Halle-Vilvoorde (Flemish Brabant) will lower the blood alcohol limit required for immediate driving licence suspension to 0.35 g/l.
Previously, driving licences were suspended immediately if drivers exceeded a blood alcohol level of 0.5 g/l. This new limit aims to improve road safety in the region, the prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Unlike before, when the lower limit only applied during awareness campaigns about drink-driving risks, the reduced threshold will now be enforced year-round.
In Louvain, drivers with no prior offences and a blood alcohol level below 0.5 g/l can attend a training course on the dangers of drink-driving. Hal-Vilvorde will offer such drivers the option of settling the matter amicably.
Drivers with blood alcohol levels of 0.5 g/l or higher, or those with previous convictions, will face prosecution in traffic court.
Prosecutors warn they could face fines of up to €16,000, licence suspensions ranging from 8 days to 5 years, and additional penalties.
Judges may also require offenders to install interlock breathalyser devices in their vehicles or undergo medical and psychological evaluations.
During Louvain’s recent summer campaign, 244 drivers received citations. Most will appear in court in January 2026, while some opted for mediation or educational courses.
In Hal-Vilvorde, campaigns in 2023 and 2024 led to 147 and 148 drivers being summoned to thematic court hearings respectively.
