A Belgian man found out the hard way that nearly all automated road checks along motorways in Belgium are now active, after picking up seven speeding fines in one day on his way to and from the country's coast at the end of last month.
At the end of March, a man living in the municipality of Visé in the Liège province drove on the E40 motorway to and from the coast on a day trip. Several weeks later, he found seven speeding tickets in the mailbox.
On his way to the coast, he was flashed twice; first at Merelbeke and then three minutes later at Sint-Denijs-Westrem (both in the East Flanders province). On the way back, he was booked five times: at 22:42, 22:47, 22:51, 23:00 and finally at 23:38 – near Beernem, Aalter, Drongen, Erpe-Mere and Boutersem, just past Leuven.
His speeding violations will cost more than €500 in fines, he told Walloon newspaper Sudinfo. He bitterly concluded that he "will never return to the Belgian coast."
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The incident proves that the many automated road checks along regional and motorways – there are about 422 throughout the country – are gradually being activated. Many had been switched off for a long time, partly due to the federal police's software problems.
All controls should be operational by the end of this year.
