Belgium’s French-speaking socialist party, Parti Socialiste (PS), wants traffic offenders to pay fines proportional to their income, Het Nieuwsblad reports. The party has submitted a bill in the Federal Parliament to this effect. If passed it would see Belgians with high salaries pay three times more for traffic fines.
According to MP Laurence Zanchetta, the weighting of the fines will depend on the monthly salary of the speeding offender. By increasing the amount for those who earn more, the party hopes to “restore the deterrent effect for certain population groups,” she explained.
A similar system already exists in some Scandinavian countries. The francophone party says that it wants to fix the fines at a maximum of €12,000.
Payment or points?
In response to the proposal, the Vias road safety institute says that such a system would be reliant on the government’s ability to correctly estimate the salary of all Belgians. It instead advocates a points-based system, such as already exists in the United Kingdom. The group says that this “addresses road safety in a much more comprehensive way.”
PS’s Flemish colleagues, Vooruit, are also sceptical about the idea. “If we want to significantly improve road safety, only one issue should be on the table today: the points-based driving licence, which is also included in the coalition agreement,” said MP Joris Vandenbroucke. “But every time we have this discussion, the Walloon socialists start dragging their feet.”
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In 2022, a record number of Belgian motorists were caught speeding. In the first six months of the year, 3 million drivers were caught speeding, according to Federal Police figures. Speeding fines represent a significant source of Federal income.
Fines currently range between €53 and €4,000 euros. A conservative estimate means that Federal authorities made at least €159 million in 2022 in speeding fines alone.
