Two in Three Belgian Drivers Speed in Zone 30 Areas, New Study Finds
Nearly two out of three Belgian drivers exceed the speed limit in zone 30 areas at levels that would result in a fine, according to a new behavior measurement study published Friday by the Vias Institute. The average speed in these residential zones stands at 41 km/h across Belgium — well above the 30 km/h limit — with the most egregious violations recorded in Wallonia, where 83% of drivers would be penalized.
Regional Disparities Highlight Enforcement Gap
The study, which measured the speed of nearly 2.3 million passenger cars at 99 locations across Belgium between late 2024 and early 2026, reveals stark regional differences. In Flanders, half of all drivers exceed the tolerance threshold in zone 30 areas, while in Wallonia that figure jumps to 83%. Average speeds tell a similar story: 37 km/h in Flanders versus 45 km/h in Wallonia.
The problem extends beyond zone 30 areas. In zone 50 zones, Walloon drivers are twice as likely to be in violation (43%) as their Flemish counterparts (21%). On 90 km/h roads, 45% of Walloon drivers exceed the limit compared to just 16% in Flanders — a gap partly explained by the fact that the standard limit outside built-up areas is 70 km/h in Flanders but remains 90 km/h in Wallonia.
Nearly 6% of drivers in zone 30 areas were recorded driving more than 30 km/h above the limit, with one driver clocked at an extreme 119 km/h in a 30 km/h zone.
Highways Show Marked Improvement
The picture is considerably more encouraging on motorways. Only 7% of drivers nationally exceed 129 km/h — the threshold after technical tolerance — on 120 km/h highways, a dramatic improvement from 44% in 2021 to 23% in 2026. Vias attributes this progress primarily to the proliferation of trajectory controls installed across the country in recent years.
“What certainly plays a role is that trajectory controls have been installed in many places in recent years,” the institute noted, adding that the growing number of electric vehicles, whose drivers tend to drive more smoothly to preserve battery range, has also contributed to lower highway speeds.
Officials Call for Sustained Action
The findings come as Belgium prepares for its 25th national speed control marathon (flitsmarathon) on Saturday, part of the European ROADPOL action week. Federal Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke said speed “remains an important cause of accidents and is at least a determining factor in their severity,” praising the favorable evolution on highways thanks to trajectory controls and strict enforcement.
“Together with my regional colleagues, we must continue to invest in this approach, because every traffic victim is one too many,” Crucke said. The issue will be on the agenda at the States-General on Road Safety scheduled for 6 October 2026.
Walloon Minister of Road Safety François Desquesnes acknowledged that while the results are encouraging, “Wallonia must continue its efforts: speed limits remain too often ignored in cities and villages where children, on foot and by bike, circulate.” He emphasized that “safer Walloon roads mean lives saved.”
Enforcement and Infrastructure Recommendations
Vias concludes that both average speeds and the percentage of drivers in violation remain “far too high, despite a high technical tolerance margin in our country.” Belgium applies a 6 km/h technical tolerance for speed limits up to 100 km/h, meaning drivers in zone 30 areas are only flashed from 37 km/h.
The institute recommends adapting road infrastructure — such as speed bumps and traffic cushions — and expanding visible enforcement, including trajectory controls, particularly in zones 30 and 50 where the most vulnerable road users are present.
The findings echo earlier Vias research from 2018, which found that nearly 6 out of 10 Belgians believed zone 30 areas were poorly signaled and two-thirds of drivers had difficulty respecting the 30 km/h limit. A survey published in April found that 38% of Belgians regularly exceed speed limits, with one in four having received a speeding ticket in the past year.
What to Watch For
The 25th flitsmarathon runs from 6:00 AM Saturday to 6:00 AM Sunday, with federal and local police conducting speed checks across the country. The Flemish government’s road safety plan, presented in January, aims to halve road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2019, with a Vision Zero goal for 2050.
With more than 8.38 million speeding tickets issued in 2025 — more than double the 4 million in 2019 — the question of how to effectively enforce speed limits in residential areas remains a pressing concern for policymakers and road safety advocates alike. The upcoming States-General on Road Safety in October will provide a key platform for addressing these challenges.