2023-09-20 12:55:03
Update
September 20, 2023
14:55
Detecting the use of GSM while driving via automatic radars is no longer relevant, according to Het Nieuwsblad, to the great dismay of Vias who regrets this decision.
The project to use automatic radars to combat the use of GSM while driving has been abandoned due to political disagreement over the issue of privacy, reports Het Nieuwsblad on Wednesday. “Of course, we have to pay attention to it, but it is not insurmountable,” reacts, with disappointment, from the Vias road safety institute.
Five police zones were to start using these cameras of high technology this year, announced a few months ago, the Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). But it now appears that no action is being taken due to political disagreements.
According to a recent survey, one in ten Belgian drivers calls every month with their mobile phone in hand.
The Open Vld, among others, is not in favor of such a system, according to the Flemish daily. Liberals consider that very clear photos constitute too great an invasion of privacy drivers. There would also be opposition from the management of the federal police, who did not wish to react to this information on Wednesday. Therefore, the chances are “extremely low” that such cameras will soon be suspended above the roads.
Cameras deployed in the Netherlands
According to Vias, a pilot project was however successful in 2020 and the Data Protection Authority has provided sufficient privacy safeguards. Thus, photos of “innocent” drivers had to be immediately deleted, faces blurred and other passengers unrecognizable.
Of the Similar cameras are also already being deployed in the Netherlandswhere, according to the Road Safety Institute, 35% more drivers using their mobile phone while driving have already been arrested and sanctioned in two years, while the fines are much higher and more dissuasive than in Belgium: 380 euros against 174 euros.
Disappointment at Vias
Vias therefore says he is disappointed to learn that the project has been shelved.especially since, according to a recent survey, one in ten Belgian drivers calls every month with your mobile phone in your hand, which doubles the risk of an accident compared to a vigilant motorist.
Among those under 34, 23% make at least one phone call every month with their mobile phone in hand. “In terms of road safety, it is one of the main mortality factors,” insists Stef Willems, spokesperson for Vias.
From the office of the Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet, we assure that “other measures are being studied” to combat this phenomenon.
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