The federal traffic police and 110 local police zones recorded 2,387 offenses and revoked 503 licenses on Tuesday and Wednesday during a first national action of controls targeting distracted driving, the federal police announced on Friday in a Press release.
Of the 2,445 violations recorded. 2,331 concerned the use of mobile phones while driving and 114 other forms of distraction. According to the federal police, inattention while driving is the cause of a quarter of road accidents.
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden went to the field in Wetteren, along the E40 motorway, on Tuesday to attend a check. During his visit, several motorists and truck drivers were fined and removed from traffic. “Despite the increase in fines, many drivers continue to disregard the ban on the use of mobile phones while driving, in particular“, she said. “This is why the local police and the federal police have joined forces, for the first time, in order to organize a large-scale national action dedicated to this problem. By focusing on both awareness and repression, we hope to create a change in mentality and save lives.”
“Society and technologies evolve with the drifts that may result. With this action at the level of the integrated police, we show that the police are not to be outdone and that we adapt to accident-prone phenomena“, added the divisional commissioner Koen Ricour, director of the federal traffic police.Distracted driving is the cause of many accidents. Through this action, which combines awareness and repression, we want to make road users aware of the risks they take both for themselves and for others.“.