Driving licence with penalty points fired into the long grass

Under the penalty points’ system points are deducted from your licence for every offence till you don’t have enough to drive.

The governing Flemish socialists of Vooruit identify two culprits for the failure: the equally governing Francophone socialists of PS and liberals of MR. The many road deaths in our country, says MP and traffic expert Joris Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), are a direct result of the "lax attitude" of the French-speaking socialists and liberals.

Vandenbroucke does not for a second doubt that the driving licence with penalty points is an absolute necessity: "We need it in the fight against road pirates," he told VRT. Three years ago, it was agreed as part of the coalition agreement. Only last year, traffic institute VIAS came up with a study that recommended its introduction.

Virtually all parties say they are in favour. So why isn't it being introduced? Vandenbroucke blames the French-speaking liberals and socialists, MR and PS: "They haven’t got any arguments," he says. "Mainly they are just afraid they will lose voters. So people are dying on the roads - these are avoidable deaths - because these parties refuse to take measures to improve road safety."

"There are 500 road deaths and 55,000 traffic injuries every year in Belgium. We have made agreements to address that. MR and PS should respect those agreements."

Alternative plan from MR and PS

MR and PS do have an alternative plan to boost road safety. With, for example, higher fines for those parked in disabled parking spaces, and the abolition of tolerance margins at speed checks and more checks on motorists. According to Vandenbroucke, these proposals are beside the point.

"We need to get road pirates off the road, we have no other choice," he says. The points-based driving licence could do that: for each offence, a number of points are deducted until you don't have enough left to drive. That system has already been introduced in 22 EU member states.

To force the issue, Vooruit now wants to conduct a very public debate, attacking its own coalition partners. The next step is for Vandenbroucke to ask a question in parliament. Lawmaker Jef Van den Bergh of the Flemish Christian democrats has also drafted a bill. Vandenbroucke: "PS and MR should now publicly explain why they are blocking such a measure and why they do not have the courage to implement agreements made."

The opposition Flemish nationalists of N-VA are eager to make hay while the sun shines and are offering to provide votes from opposition benches to get the driving licence with penalty points on the statutes.