Traffic in Belgium
Belgium is the only country in the world...
- Where the middle lane dries faster than the right lane.
- Where a speed limit is just an indication, and where people add 15 km/h (+16 is how much too fast you must drive to get caught).
- Where the pavement is a parking zone.
- Where the kerbstones have a slope to not damage the cars that drive on the pavement.
- Where, at 120 km/h, 5 meters is considered a safe distance.
- Where politicians proudly announce that they ignore the speed limit, it's too low anyway. And if many people break a law, it must be a bad law. (Jean-Marie De Decker, senator for VLD)
- Where big lights are just used to tell people to move over.
- Where indicator lights must have a purpose, but most don't know which.
- Where double indicators are mainly used as an excuse for illegal parking.
- Where fog is no reason to slow down.
- Where nobody bothers to check if the lights of a trailer are functioning, or connected properly.
- Where wearing seat-belts is not important.
- Where every year less alcohol-checks are held - and more people caught for drunk driving.
- Where everybody drives their kid to school, because there is too much traffic around schools.
- Where the police complains about dirty license plates, but hardly stops people driving too fast.
- Where people would rather cause an accident, than miss staring at one.
- Where rain is no reason to slow down.
- Where people are proud to have let nobody insert in front of them today.
- ...where people accept that every year 1.500 people, or 0,015% of the population, die in traffic. Just to put it in perspective, that is one attacked WTC tower, year after year after year.
© Jim Bella 2002-2003