Extra police checks for dangerous driving and parking around schools

Brussels police will reinforce their patrols around schools over the coming weeks, paying extra attention to dangerous driving and bad parking.

The operation comes as tens of thousands of schoolchildren in the capital return to class on Tuesday - many for the first time since March.

Over the past five years, on average, 2,500 children per year in Belgium are victims of a road accident on the way to or from school - or 14 accidents per school day - according to figures from the road safety institute Vias.

Almost four in 10 children involved in road accidents each year are travelling to or from school, Vias said. The most at-risk age group is 12 to 16-year-olds - and boys are more likely to be involved in a road accident than girls.

"At 12, many children start going to school on their own and have not always acquired the appropriate behaviour," the road safety institute said. "At 16, adolescents sometimes turn to other modes of transport, such as scooters, and adopt more risky behaviour."

According to the Vias study, the return home after school is more dangerous than the morning journey. Thursday and Friday evenings are the most accident-prone.