Local authorities in Flanders expect income from speeding fines to reach a total of 540 million euro over the next 4 years. The figures appear in an article in Monday’s edition of the daily ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’.
Flemish local authorities expect income from speeding fines to total 540 million by 2029
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The total amount of income from speeding fines that appears in the 2026 budgets of the 285 Flemish municipal and city authorities is 119 million euro. This is predicted to rise to 140 million euro by 2029. Much of the income comes from so-called GAS 5 fines. These are fines for speeding in areas where the speed limit is 30 km/h or 50 km/h. Local authorities are allowed to keep the revenue from these fines.
Some local authorities stand out. The City of Ghent (East Flanders), for example, expects its income from speeding fines to rise to 13 million/annum euro by 2029. Smaller towns also expect income from speeding fines of in the millions, even though their respective populations are relatively low.
The road safety organisation Vias is critical of local authorities including revenue from speeding fines in their budgets. “You should not budget for people breaking the law. Ideally, the figure should be zero”, Vias’ spokesman Stef Willems told journalists.
Flemish MP Maurits Vande Reyde (Independent) goes a step further and calls the practice “shameful”. Mr Vande Reyde says that including projected income from speeding fines in municipal budgets means that the fines risk becoming a revenue model, rather than a tool to improve road safety. However, several mayors argue that the money will be reinvested in safer roads and speed cameras.
Critics warn that relying on fines could undermine public trust, especially as many of those that pay them are motorists that live outside the municipality concerned.