Anyone travelling by car this morning will have noticed it: this was a particularly nasty morning rush hour. According to the Flemish Traffic Centre’s traffic jam barometer we witnessed the worst morning rush hour of the year so far, with around 300 kilometres of traffic jams. Rain was the cause. It meant that several minor incidents had a more serious impact. Also at the "regular" traffic blackspots, the congestion was worse.
The Traffic Centre's congestion barometer rose far above the usual value this morning. "That has everything to do with the sopping wet morning rush hour, combined with traditional heavy Monday traffic," explains Traffic Centre spokesman Peter Bruyninckx.
In addition, there were several accidents or broken-down vehicles that hampered the traffic. "There were no major incidents, but the ones there were did lead to long traffic jams," says Bruyninckx. "Often only one lane was blocked, as in two incidents outside Ghent."
"On the E17 motorway towards Antwerp, a broken-down vehicle led to 10 kilometres of traffic jams in Lokeren, and on the E40 towards Brussels, there were also 10 kilometres of tailbacks in Merelbeke after a collision between several vehicles. In Limburg, there was an 8-kilometre traffic jam on the E314 in Houthalen for traffic heading for the Dutch border."
There were also the regular traffic jams around Antwerp and Brussels, which had an impact on the barometer. Shortly ahead of 9am, the barometer still stood at 240 kilometres of traffic jams, still exceptional for that time of day.
An hour later, most of the traffic jams cleared. Around 10 o'clock, there were still around 50 kilometres of traffic jams, which is around average.