Belgium will set a quote for yearly traffic checks as it aims to cut back on the number of deadly accidents on its roads to get in line with an EU objective.
Traffic police will be tasked with checking one out of three drivers on an annual basis, according to Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden's general policy note.
"Police will prioritise targeting offences which can be the cause of deadly or serious accidents, namely speeding, driving under the influence (drugs and alcohol), distractions (using mobile phones while driving) or the inadequate use of safety equipment (such as not wearing a safety belt or incorrectly using child seats...)"
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Verlinden said that the aim of the new traffic check quotas were to get Belgium in line with an EU-wide objective to cut down road deaths by half by 2030 — a goal which she says still "far" beyond the country's reach.
"Besides, police services record nearly 48,000 light or serious injuries resulting from road accidents each year. This also rightly explains why road safety remains one of the main concerns among the Belgian population."
Other elements to improve road safety include wider use of technologies —such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and the digital processing of traffic checks and offences—, supporting regional road safety policy and the revision and simplifaction of the traffic code.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
