48% of appeals relating to speeding fines are accepted by Federal authorities, La Dernière Heure reported on Wednesday, citing data from the national road safety prosecutor’s office. This means that nearly one in two appeals are successful and the penalty doesn't have to be paid.
While the majority of drivers simply accept the fine, some chose to contest it. According to statistics from FPS Justice, around 6,000 disputes are handled each month by the national road safety prosecutor’s office, which has coordinated speeding fines since July 2022. Very few chose to challenge their tickets, with the disputes amounting to just 1% of all offences.
The statistics do not necessarily mean that the 52% of complainants rejected by the prosecutor's office were at fault. Some later take the case to court, supported by a lawyer.
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“The total number of immediate collections has increased from €4.9 million in 2021 to €6.2 million in 2022, an increase of around 27%,” SPF Justice told La Dernière Heure. “If the offender does not pay his immediate collection, the fine increases by approximately 33%."
In 2022, 94% of offenders paid their fine after receiving an immediate collection. Those who persist in not paying receive a payment order from the public prosecutor. “Since the launch of this procedure in 2020, just over one million payment orders have been sent,” SPF Justice concluded.
