Millions of euros in fines have been issued in just over a year to Brussels drivers for violating the city's Low Emissions Zone (LEZ), with an average of over two dozen fines issued daily.
From January 2019 until the end of January 2020, 10,311 fines were issued in total, amounting to a total of €3.6 million owed by offenders of the ban on polluting vehicles.
The €350 fine is issued automatically through a network of nearly 200 cameras deployed throughout the regional territory which use licence plate recognition technology.
So far officials have said that only €1.8 million has been paid, with the remaining offenders either ignoring or appealing the fine and others requesting a payment plan to settle it, Bruzz reports.
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According to LEZ regulations, drivers can only be issued fines every three months, with the total number of fines issued each year capped at four, in a system aiming to give drivers sufficient time to "take the necessary measures to no longer use the banned vehicle."
Since Brussels' LEZ entered into force in 2018, many models of diesel and gas-powered vehicles have been banned, with a new round of vehicles banned after the regulations were updated at the start of the year.
Public transport companies have also been affected by the ban, with Flemish transporter De Lijn paying over €30,000 in fines in December.
After the LEZ regulations were tightened this year, authorities said they would hold off on issuing fines until April.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
