The roadsafety institue in Belgium has firmly rejected recent calls to increase the speed limit to 150 km/h in Belgium.
In an interview with Sudinfo, Benoit Godard, spokesperson for the Vias Institute, firmly dismissed the possibility of raising the speed limit to 150 km/h on Belgium's motorways. He cited infrastructural limitations and safety concerns as the main reasons.
Following Czechia's decision to implement a 150 km/h speed limit on its motorways from 1 January 2024, speculation arose concerning whether Belgium would also consider a similar adjustment. However, Godard shut down the speculation stating, "There is no question of it here, it's not at all on the agenda."
The maximum speed limit on Belgium's motorways is currently 120 km/h.
Implications of a higher speed limit
Godard explained that Belgium's current motorway network does not support such an increase. He stressed that such a project would be illogical considering Belgium's high motorway fatality rate, with 16% of road accident fatalities occurring on motorways.
In addition to safety concerns, environmental issues were also brought up. Godard pointed out that even at a speed of 130 km/h, CO2 emissions increase by 6% while fine particle emissions rise by 3%. "If we moved to 150 km/h, it would be even worse. Setting a limit of 150 km/h here would really be going against the current trend," he added.
