Flanders to switch on all speed cameras permanently

From next year, every speed camera in Flanders will be permanently active as the region takes traffic fine collection into its own hands. The move is expected to generate an additional 50 million euros annually for the Flemish budget.

Minister-president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) stressed that this is “not a new tax” but rather stricter enforcement. “Those who respect speed limits will not be affected,” he said during his September declaration on Monday.

Currently, fines from Flemish cameras are processed through a federal system run by the police and justice department. However, outdated servers and limited capacity mean dozens of cameras have stood idle, in some cases for years. Flanders also argues that too much revenue is skimmed off at federal level before reaching its own coffers.

To solve this, the Flemish Tax Authority will develop a new platform costing around 5 million euros. Once operational, it will manage all Flemish cameras and fines directly, ensuring they run continuously.

The government expects part of the extra income to flow into the Road Safety Fund, supporting its ambition of zero road deaths by 2050. Last year, 253 people lost their lives in traffic accidents across Flanders.

The federal government has reacted with surprise, pointing out that extra server capacity is already being installed to get every camera in Belgium working. Justice officials also note that almost all fines collected in Flanders already return to the region (154 million euros last year), questioning the need for a costly duplicate system.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}