In the city of Brussels and the eighteen surrounding municipalities, you are only allowed to drive a maximum of 30 km / h this year. Cars, buses and trucks are only allowed to drive at 50 and sometimes 70 km / h on the major access roads.
The new speed limit is intended to make the Capital Region safer, quieter and less dirty, according to the Belgian government. Every year, about fifty people are killed in traffic: much more than the number of fatalities in Dutch cities. The Brussels government hopes that this could decrease rapidly if the speed is no faster than 30 km / h. She cites foreign success stories with declines from a quarter to almost a third.
Not only the lower maximum speed should contribute to improvement. The Belgians are also trying to get the momentum going by planting trees and putting down speed bumps. Every year, a tenth of the city is redeveloped in this way. For the time being, the police are acting leniently. There will also not necessarily be more speed cameras or checks.
Today, Brussels, which has 1.2 million inhabitants, is still a real car city. But that is gently changing. Especially since the corona crisis, the bicycle has been gaining ground. However, the cyclist must also adhere to the new speed limit. This also applies to users of the speed pedelecs and the electric scooters that are popular in Belgium (but prohibited in the Netherlands).
Environmental zone of Wallonia
Setting the lower maximum speed is not the first measure with which Belgians cause a sensation. The aim is to make the entire region of Wallonia an environmental zone. That became known last year. Step by step, less and less older cars are welcome in Wallonia. The first phase of this plan must come into effect from 2023. This concerns petrol and diesel cars from before 1996. In the years that follow, the standards are constantly being tightened.