The police courts will have to take account of the "corrected speed" of speeding drivers and not of the speeds measured when they are caught, according to a recent judgment of the Court of Cassation, reported Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen on Tuesday. This judgment follows the appeal in Cassation brought by a motorist who had been convicted for driving at 93 km/h in a residential area. The judge then ignored the adjusted speed of the offender, set at 87 km/h.
Since all speed cameras are subject to inaccuracies when measuring speed, a margin of error is applied. This is called the corrected speed.
Up to now, police courts have been free to rely on one of two speeds, although the majority had already been taking into account the corrected speed.
According to the Flemish dailies, the decision of the Court of Cassation could result in more drivers being exempt from licence withdrawals.
The Brussels Times
