Half of Walloon drivers do not consistently follow the emergency corridor rule, according to a new survey by the Walloon Agency for Road Safety (AWSR).
The rule, implemented in October 2020, requires drivers across Belgium to create a clear pathway for emergency vehicles during traffic jams or slowdowns on roads with at least two lanes in the same direction.
Drivers in the left lane must move to the far left, while those in the right lane shift to the far right. On roads with three or more lanes, the left lane cars move left, and those on other lanes shift right.
The AWSR survey revealed that only one in five drivers knows exactly how to position their vehicle to form the emergency corridor at the onset of slow traffic.
One-third of drivers are unaware of which types of roads the rule applies to, and 20% mistakenly believe it is mandatory only on roads with at least three lanes.
Additionally, only 42% of participants said they spontaneously made the correct manoeuvre to form the emergency corridor the last time they encountered a traffic jam.
A similar finding emerged last September in a separate survey conducted by the Brussels-based Vias Institute, which polled 1,000 people.
