Few topics arouse such emotions in national debates than cars; Belgians are strongly attached to their vehicles and the tax system is organised to make having a high-spec model at your disposal much easier than it is for the average resident of other EU countries.
As well as making cars financially accessible, with many companies also paying fuel, attitudes towards driving are historically lax. The dance halls and nightclubs where Belgium developed its reputation as a hotspot for electronic music and hedonism were often situated conveniently alongside main roads outside cities.
Driving under the influence was commonplace, more naughty than taboo. Many still see drink driving as a lesser transgression, as is evidenced by the hundreds that are caught when police carry out periodic weekend campaigns.
Whilst road deaths have fallen significantly since 2000 (in 2021 Belgium numbered 45 fatalities per million, equal to the EU average), the current trend will miss the ambitious target to have zero road-related deaths by 2050.
What more could be done to improve road safety? One idea is to introduce a points system for driving licenses, as is the case in the majority of EU countries. Belgium is one of just five Member States not to have points, meaning that drivers can accumulate (lesser) offences without fear of their licence being removed.
Previous calls to introduce points have been batted away. Some have even argued that it will simply result in more people driving without a license at all – a line of reasoning that road safety organisations dispute given the heavy penalties that this would incur.
Strip away the sophistry and the ideological debate is clear: efforts to make Belgium's roads safer by clamping down on repeat offenders are running up against the notion of individual liberty. Especially vocal in their opposition to a points system is the francophone liberal party MR, whose leader happens to enjoy rally driving as a hobby.
Nonetheless, the policy is on the table for negotiations in forming a new Federal Government. Will it drive a wedge between coalition partners? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten