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Brussels-North police catch one in six drivers speeding during coronavirus shutdown
Police in Saint-Josse, Schaerbeek and Evere have reported a rise in speeding since Belgium's coronavirus stay-at-home order was implemented in mid-March.
The Brussels-North local police force checked the speed of more than 42,000 vehicles between 18 March and 18 May - and issued 7,500 tickets.
This means one in every six drivers was over the speed limit - compared with an average of one in eight during January and February.
In the first five months of 2020, Brussels-North police set up 492 mobile speed checks, compared with 201 in the same period last year.
Police commissioner Frédéric Dauphin said the fight against speeding remained a priority, even while police were busy enforcing the coronavirus restrictions.
"The inappropriate speeds on our roads are unacceptable," he said. "And that remains the case during the coronavirus crisis."
Police in the area have been averaging five mobile speed checks per day in recent weeks, up from three earlier in the year.
Comments
The driving in Brussels is horrific. The number of boy racers on their bikes is incredible. There needs to be a huge crackdown, by the police and Commune officials to eradicate the city of such anti-social behaviour. Confiscating the motorbikes is required(most are illegal or driven illegally). The cars, too, are driven aggressively as if no one has passed a test in their lives. This includes the professional drivers like taxi drivers, too. The standards of driving that has been allowed to manifest itself, in Belgium, is a sign of the complacency or dysfunction of Parliament(s) and its legal systems. Disgraceful all round.