14 March 2007
BRUSSELS – By early Wednesday afternoon the traffic police had already registered more than 1,000 violations of the 90 km/hr speed limit in effect because of smog.
Eddy Greif of the traffic police reported this to Belga. “At a certain moment we even registered seven violations a minute,” said Greif.
Depending on how much above the limit motorists drive, they are either fined on the spot or summoned to court, which can result in the loss of a license.
The police said they had not put in extra manpower for the traffic checks, but were focussing their usual activities on the speed limit checks because of the particulate matter in the air.
Traffic checks are being conducted in smog zones, mainly on the major axes between Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Louvain. There are no smog zones in Limburg. The only smog zones in West-Vlaanderen are the motorway zone and the Kortrijk region.
The traffic police will continue checks all week in the smog zones, but only where the smog speed limit signs have been placed.
[Copyright Expatica News 2007]
Subject: Belgian news