Let’s be brutally honest: nothing spices up a drive across Flanders quite like the knowledge that somewhere, an invisible stopwatch is running. Section controls – those cunning cameras that clock your average speed over an entire stretch of road rather than one sneaky flash – were supposed to make everything safer and fairer. Yet in recent weeks the whole thing has imploded. A police judge in Vilvoorde took one look at a €53 fine and binned it. Reason? Too few warning signs and a stretch laid out more like an ambush than a lawful measurement. It’s the motoring equivalent of being fined for breathing too loudly in tight trousers.
This isn’t some lone rebel judge having a bad day. In just two years the number of section controls in Flanders has exploded from 246 to a staggering 1,233. Impressive statistics, until you discover that a large chunk has been outsourced to one dominant company that whispers sweet promises of easy money into the ears of cash-strapped councils. Around sixty municipalities handed over the keys, and suddenly fines rain down like a dodgy lottery. Experts are tearing their hair out over botched installations: cameras placed too far apart, sections that twist through bends and traffic lights, the lot. The result is a trap for anyone who dares sip a coffee or glance at their passenger for half a second. “This is begging for trouble,” the specialists say, and they’re spot on – it feels like an administrative prank on wheels.
Mobility minister Lydia Peeters is now frantically back-pedalling, fearing a tsunami of similar rulings. She vows to tighten the law, prune the excesses and rewrite the mess where necessary. Fine words, but meanwhile the average motorist is stacking up fines just for trying to get home without selling a kidney. For context, Wallonia manages with a modest 97 of these things – proof you don’t need to measure every heartbeat to keep roads orderly. Up north we seem addicted to digital surveillance while the real killers – slippery winter roads, lumbering trucks – get a free pass.
Step back for a moment, though: this entire farce is the perfect reminder of why smart mobility is the only sane future. Picture never having to babysit your speedometer again, just gliding along in a car that looks after itself. Electric cars, with their silky-smooth adaptive cruise control and razor-sharp driver aids, turn the daily grind into something almost relaxing. They whisper over the tarmac instead of roaring, and with built-in navigation that actually respects the limit, those accidental slips vanish. It isn’t witchcraft; it’s proper engineering – quieter, cleaner and, crucially, a whole lot less stressful. In a region full of unpredictable cameras, that’s the upgrade you actually deserve.
So the next time another fine lands on the doormat, fight it tooth and nail – or better yet, switch camps before the next one arrives. Everything you need to go fully electric without the hassle is right here. Dive into our marketplace and find your 100 % electric car today: https://volty.be/nl/buy/cars/overview/. Foot down, worries gone.
