Driving in Belgium

12633POSTS

10 years ago

Hi,

What do you think of the way people drive in Belgium? How different is it from your home country?

Respecting the road safety rules, driving etiquette such as general courtesy, speed excess聟 what are the characteristics of the driving style in Belgium?

Share with us the difficulties one may face when driving in Belgium: peak hours, road conditions, accident, etc. and your advice to drive safely in the country.

Thank you in advance for participating,

Maximilien

See also

Getting a driver's license in Belgium - Guide
Driving Schools in Belgium - Business
Driving a foreign car in Belgium - 4 Replies
Non-EU Driving licence exchange in Belgium - 5 Replies
12 Hours Driving Theory Lesson in English in Belgium ! - 7 Replies
Driving in belgium - 11 Replies
Driving Practical Exam (On the road with translator) Tips and Tricks - 3 Replies

Hass09 Guest

0POSTS

10 years ago

Speed, speed and more speed.聽 Most here don't respect the speed limits and other traffic rules.聽 Problems with many driving under the influence also exist here.............same problems in the states.聽 I will say there isn't a big problem with road rage here as there is in the states.聽 For a small country there are a lot of traffic accidents and fatalities.聽

Roads in Flanders are better maintained than the roads in Wallonia........my opinion.

Peak hours here are 7 am to 10 am then 3:30 pm to about 7 pm (working days)..........Hasselt and surrounding areas.

My advice:

Driving license and proper registration papers always in the auto while driving
Don't drink if you're driving (there are occasionally controls here and it won't be good if you get caught driving under the influence)
Know the rules of the road well before getting behind the wheel and follow them
Know how to read the street signs in French/Dutch (some people don't have a clue)
Be very vigilant of what other drivers are doing
Don't drive during peak hours if possible
Know what you are responsible for doing if you have an accident
Make sure your auto is in proper driving order, e.g.聽 brakes working properly, headlights are working, etc.
No texting and talking on your mobile phone behind the wheel

The public transportation system is great here, so there isn't a need for everyone to have an auto.聽 There is always the option of riding a bicycle.

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phipiemar VIP Member

4733POSTS

10 years ago

Hello Maximilien,

For me, finding myself as a Belgian abroad regularly, when I return to Belgium, I tell myself every time our roads and our way of driving is not so bad as that.

Regarding compliance with the rules of the road, courtesy behind the wheel, and other ... as in all countries, there are bad apples. There will always be people who will complain of speed limits, taking Germany as an example. But still, there are good things in place. Such as buses that take precedence at startup not as the land where I currently am.

Driving in Belgium is not harder or easier than in most European countries. As long as we adopt a defensive behavior, the risks are minimal.

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mieka4u Member

1POSTS

10 years ago

i think driving in Belgium is better then in my homeland but ,, at times it can get really crazy with all the trucks,,,

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Hass09 Guest

0POSTS

10 years ago

Agree Mieka4u............it can get crazy with the trucks.聽 The first time I drove from Hasselt to Antwerpen I was completely overwhelmed with all the trucks on the road.聽 That's another reason not to drive during peak hours.聽聽

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Andrew Daglish Member

2POSTS

10 years ago

Good afternoon!
In many regards, Belgium is the most Northerly Mediterranean country and this applies to the driving, too.
Driving standards are much lower than in the UK, with the exception of the ability to switch lanes in queuing traffic. Belgian drivers are much more forgiving there.
It doesn't help that Belgium still has prioritaire a droit (priority from the right) on many roads. This might have worked in an age of horse and carts, but has no place in a supposedly modern 21st century country. For example, we no longer burn witches at the stake.
Finally, a word of warning. NEVER sign a police statement in a language you can't read. Insist on writing it in your own language and explain that you can't read French/Flemish. (A Belgian reversed into me in a car park whilst I was stationary and sounding my horn, did minor damage and insisted on calling the police. They arrived in due course, were courteous and spoke good English. However, the statement they wrote in French in no way reflected the statement I gave and I didn't discover this until I gave it to my insurance broker the following day. Be warned!)

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pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

Strolling home through our town one day, I gently and casually waved the slow-down signal when I saw a car speeding at around 90 in the 50kph limit. To my surprise the driver braked hard to a halt, and started to climb out of his car. I quickly produced my mobile, and started dialling 112 (whilst preparing to run like hell !). The driver looked at me, and chose to get back in his car and drive away - a little slower, although probably not intentionally.
I find it bizarre that someone who is supposedly in an extreme hurry to get somewhere would actually stop for an聽 argument (fight?) with someone who disturbs his 'right' to drive at excessive speed through town. In general, I find the road rage here far worse than I am used to. I have driven regularly in BG, FR, IT, and my home GB, without any of the events that I have seen here in terms of road rage.
Large roundabouts in Belgium scare me. Unless they are complete chaos, like 'Place Misery', which is actually Ok when you get used to it, then Belgians will start off on the outside and cut across the middle lane, or go around the roundabout in the outside lane. This is fine to most Belgians, even when the lanes are clearly marked with white lines, but goes against the teaching in GB. I have yet to look on wegcode to see what the actual law is here, but asking in the office always brings up a number of diverse answers that will leave the Belgians discussing what is correct for a while, before deciding that it is not very important anyway. I particularly dislike the roundabout outside technopolis in Mechelen, where I have had to take avoiding action on a few occasions - the white lines have faded, so the lane discipline is particularly bad.
I would like to see the points system introduced, and pro-active Policing. I did read that the Police experimented with random surprise controls at Tomorrowland, and actually arrested more people DUI. The usual system of stopping every car with 10 or more Police agents present seems like an incredible waste of resources, and the control is soon common knowledge to the drink-drivers in the caf茅s. 10 police officers for one control could be 5 x 2 officers in multiple places, as in other countries.
As AD mentions above 'Voorrang naar rechts' does seem like an antiquated law that worked fine when there were only a handful of cars on the roads. Now it must cause more problems than it it saves in paint. Most countries that drive on the right have signed up to this system for when there are no priority markings provided. What differs is that some countries, such as Belgium, use this as an excuse not to actually provide any road markings, whilst other countries do not use the rule (although it is in their law) because they provide road markings instead.
As everywhere, it is best to avoid problems by driving defensively.

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richardd New member

4POSTS

10 years ago

Drivers in Belgium are very courteous especially with pedestrians.

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pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

@richardd, that sounds like a 'Please flame me' request. <g>

Hass09 Guest

0POSTS

10 years ago

#10

Andrew Daglish wrote:
Good afternoon!
In many regards, Belgium is the most Northerly Mediterranean country and this applies to the driving, too.
Driving standards are much lower than in the UK, with the exception of the ability to switch lanes in queuing traffic. Belgian drivers are much more forgiving there.
It doesn't help that Belgium still has prioritaire a droit (priority from the right) on many roads. This might have worked in an age of horse and carts, but has no place in a supposedly modern 21st century country. For example, we no longer burn witches at the stake.
Finally, a word of warning. NEVER sign a police statement in a language you can't read. Insist on writing it in your own language and explain that you can't read French/Flemish. (A Belgian reversed into me in a car park whilst I was stationary and sounding my horn, did minor damage and insisted on calling the police. They arrived in due course, were courteous and spoke good English. However, the statement they wrote in French in no way reflected the statement I gave and I didn't discover this until I gave it to my insurance broker the following day. Be warned!)

Good point.聽 Definitely never sign something you don't understand.聽 Keep in mind their reports are going to be written in French or Dutch or German (the German speaking part of Belgium is forgotten a lot) even if they speak in English with you.

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mgunn Member

1POSTS

10 years ago

#11

Driving in Belgium and more specifically in Brussels is a horrible experience. The problem lays in bad city planning and badly designed traffic patterns. This causes horrible traffic jams. To add to this already terrible situation, the drivers in Bxl are very aggressive and rude. Every day getting out on the road I fear for my life.
Also the ancient rule of priority coming from the right on most roads is very dangerous especially with aggressively be drivers.

Hass09 Guest

0POSTS

10 years ago

#12

I find giving priority to someone from the right doesn't make any sense whatsoever and I don't drive on the highways too much here for good reasons.

zmarak Member

1POSTS

10 years ago

#13

Have been driving in Belgium for the last four years. And experienced driving in other European countries. To me driving in Belgium is not hard to find your way out even in peak chaotic moments excepts the navigator is not leading me sometimes to wrong direction and no idea whether traffic blockages and changes are reflected on highly renowned gps brands in Belgium. E.g., there is famous roundabout close to where I live all gps including Google do not recognise it as roundabout! Other things which frustrates me is the unending road construction in some towns and highway are painful. I find Flemish roads and driving more disciplined than wallonie and Brussels driving reminds me of Paris or rome!
Things to respect:
Parking: parking controls are very active and can be caught in no time! Especially in touristic areas bcs I assume sometimes the public report esp in the places where the residents of that area is allowed to park. Avoid public parking outside big stations overnights!
Highway hazard: be extra careful with trucks especially from abroads lik from Eastern Europe bcs they are not familiar on this part of the world driving system.

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pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

#14

On the freeways/motorways I do find myself in the middle lane for long periods because of apprehension. As previously mentioned, there are too many trucks, and when you read that someone has died in a freeway accident, 9 times out of 10 it is because their car was sandwiched by 2 trucks in an unexpected traffic queue. That right hand lane has to be very empty of trucks before I will use it!
Oh, and watch out when joing the E19 southbound at Mechelen North. The acceleration lane actually joins the fast lane instead of the right-hand lane. If you know it's there you can give some extra 'pedal to the metal', but most satnav's know nothing of this, and any trucks just have to join a fast lane of traffic doing over 120kph, whilst not being able to accelerate to that speed. On the other hand, I haven't read about many accidents there, so it cannot be as bad as it seems.
Then there's the freeway speed controls - which are generally very sneaky, and appear to be designed to generate money rather than slow the traffic. The controls are often not near a junction or other hazard, but on a seemingly innocent stretch of freeway. The use of the expression 'traject control' for average speed cameras must confuse foreigners, as even by reading a dictionary you cannot realise that traject means 'average speed'. The authorities must trick quite a few foreigners this way.

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phipiemar VIP Member

4733POSTS

10 years ago

#15

pringleydell wrote:
On the freeways/motorways I do find myself in the middle lane for long periods because of apprehension. As previously mentioned, there are too many trucks, and when you read that someone has died in a freeway accident, 9 times out of 10 it is because their car was sandwiched by 2 trucks in an unexpected traffic queue. That right hand lane has to be very empty of trucks before I will use it!
Oh, and watch out when joing the E19 southbound at Mechelen North. The acceleration lane actually joins the fast lane instead of the right-hand lane. If you know it's there you can give some extra 'pedal to the metal', but most satnav's know nothing of this, and any trucks just have to join a fast lane of traffic doing over 120kph, whilst not being able to accelerate to that speed. On the other hand, I haven't read about many accidents there, so it cannot be as bad as it seems.
Then there's the freeway speed controls - which are generally very sneaky, and appear to be designed to generate money rather than slow the traffic. The controls are often not near a junction or other hazard, but on a seemingly innocent stretch of freeway. The use of the expression 'traject control' for average speed cameras must confuse foreigners, as even by reading a dictionary you cannot realise that traject means 'average speed'. The authorities must trick quite a few foreigners this way.

Hi Pringleydell,

Belgian and I am currently traveling in Denmark. And frankly you have no lesson to give to belgian drivers ...
I make the Copenhagen Hillerod trip regularly. And always there are cars traveling at 70/80 km on the central strip of the highway. Which is just as annoying as those who do in Belgium. Your traffic lights system that everyday vehicles move through the intersection from that it is not even green ... Cyclists in dark clothing in full winter ...
And I could cite many examples ............

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pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

#16

@phipiemar: I find it difficult to contribute to the requested topic without sounding like I am being excessively negative. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, whilst there are many good things in Belgium, if anyone starts me on the topics of the Administration or the Driving in Belgium, then I have a tendency to be negative.
But if you pick up any of the usual, english language, 'Living in Belgium' books, you will find a few sentences about the driving, which often seems bad to Americans and Brits. But hey, don't listen to me, I'm just wittering. Look at the accident statistics compared with your neighbours. (published somewhere on an EU website)

phipiemar VIP Member

4733POSTS

10 years ago

#17

I absolutely do not denigrate your right to speak / your opinions on the matter, I fully agree that the situation is not perfect. But everything is not just black or white as long ... I spent the weekend in Geneva to relax. And I had the bad idea to hire a car for a stroll. Well it is easier to drive in Paris.

On the use of statistics, it can actually be revealing but also interpreted in different ways. If we look over our countries, traffic density is 3X lower in Denmark. And the Danish population is lower than 2X the Belgian population. So in absolute terms, there is a factor of 6 between us.

pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

#18

If you push this subject into the office coffee break to see the responses, a Belgian will say that the accident statistics are worse in Belgium than in (eg) Denmark, because the population and car density is higher in Belgium, and that the accident statistics are worse in Belgium than in the Netherlands, because the population and car density is higher in the Netherlands, implying that they have more traffic jams, and being blocked in a queue the Netherlanders don't have the opportunity to have more accidents.
'Disraeli' and 'statistics' spring to mind.聽

eunolwin Member

3POSTS

10 years ago

#19

I think Belgian drivers are much better than those in the UK particularly in the south of England. There they are SO aggressive; I feel much safer here and I have lived here for 30聽 + years but learned to drive in London;

Another Sean Active member

56POSTS

10 years ago

#20

Compared to driving in some of the West African countries I have been to, Belgium is a walk in the park. My advice to driving in the second most densely populated country in Europe is to take a deep breath...and drive. I got used to it and have no complaints. There is also public transport if all else fails.

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allwyn Active member

54POSTS

10 years ago

#21

Hi all.
I have been driving in Belgium since 1 year.
I am from Mumbai, India.
Having driven there for a long time, Belgium driving, outside the cities, is like going through a curfew area. There are almost no people, cars, trucks on the roads. The driving in cities is so orderly except for the negligible and occasional driver in a hurry.
Even the major cities in other European countries, where I have driven, are an easy and stress-free drive.
I can't imagine anyone complaining about driving in Belgium. Obviously, what you call traffic density and accident rates here must be on a relative scale. For me, it is less than minuscle.
Of course, this post is from an Indian point of view.

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Another Sean Active member

56POSTS

10 years ago

#22

allwyn wrote:
Hi all.
I have been driving in Belgium since 1 year.
I am from Mumbai, India.
Having driven there for a long time, Belgium driving, outside the cities, is like going through a curfew area. There are almost no people, cars, trucks on the roads. The driving in cities is so orderly except for the negligible and occasional driver in a hurry.
Even the major cities in other European countries, where I have driven, are an easy and stress-free drive.
I can't imagine anyone complaining about driving in Belgium. Obviously, what you call traffic density and accident rates here must be on a relative scale. For me, it is less than minuscle.
Of course, this post is from an Indian point of view.

This is exactly what I'm trying to say...if those who complain about traffic in Belgium should go drive in India or most African countries, they will be in for a shock.

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pringleydell Member

13POSTS

10 years ago

#23

I've driven in India too (Ok, it was Goa, and not Bombay). Indeed, a completely different kettle of fish.
On a world scale, Belgium is not a bad country to drive in.
Imho, in comparison to it's immediate neighbours, driving in Belgium is substandard, and the amount of drink/driving is ridiculous. There have been features about the Belgian attitude to drink/driving on the Belgian news - the Belgians know that they differ to their neighbours in this aspect. Some say that the taxi's are double the price of some neighbouring countries, and this causes some of the drink/driving problems. I live in the nordrand, and for me I find it crazy that I must call a Brussels taxi to be brought home at midnight from a restaurant in a nearby town because the local taxis have stopped working. And Zaventem, the location of the international airport, is local.
I digress. It would be interesting to see an article from one of the newspapers, where Belgium compares itself with it's neighbours. There must be one. I don't believe that the higher mortality rate on the roads would always be attributed to a higher traffic density. And lets not forget that in some Northern EU countries the price of all-risk car insurance is cheaper than 3rd Party (BA) insurance in Belgium.聽 There logically is some dependence on the road accident statistics that causes this price difference.
Whilst I am having a rant, let's include that near 20% of the cars on the Belgian roads are company owned, I guess we are all familiar with the jokes about 'bad' company car drivers in our home countries. Well, you may say that there's no smoke without fire. In many EU countries, a company car is a camionette (van).
The Belgian government repeats regularly that it intends to reduce the accident rate in this country because Belgium stands out against it's neighbours. Some of us on this forum may be in denial, or say that it is acceptable due to traffic density, but the BIVV also recognise that Belgium has worse driving than it's neighbours.
If anyone can show me evidence to the contrary then I shall review my stance.

phipiemar VIP Member

4733POSTS

10 years ago

#24

Hello pringleydell,

Hahaha, it looks like you still have not digested our little talk ... If you're looking for specific information, I advise you to go for a ride on the Belgian website of the Belgian Road Safety Institute. You'll find a list of interesting report in French and English.

You will discover there for example that 30% of accidents are due to foreign drivers ...

But it's not our fault that we have a country where road density is 4.89 km / km2 compared to yours that has a density of 1.68 km / km2 ...

The Belgian road network is border with the road network in 4 European countries over a length of 1385 km. While the Danish road network is only border with the German road network of 68 km. Oops sorry, I forgot the passage of the bridge connecting Copenhagen to Malmo in Sweden ...

In which I totally agree with you, it is in relation to taxis and the impunity that some drivers of company cars believe they are entitled.

And yes, we are in the trio of bad boys at European level but almost everyone goes through our country. Thus the state does its best with the means at its disposal. As this does not excuse the 70% of Belgian drivers responsible for other accidents on our roads.

PS: Even today, I still regretted not having dashcam to film the exploits of some of your compatriots ...