Road fines reap half a billion euros in a year

Motorists in Belgium committed nearly 8.4 million traffic offences in 2023, amounting to more than half a billion euros in fines, new figures have revealed.

Of that amount, the Brussels region received €27.4 million, according to Belgium's federal finance ministry.

In addition, the general administration of "perception and recovery" (AGPR), a body within the finance ministry, received €389.2 million in instant fines handled by the police for that year.

There were also €34.6 million from offences in out-of-court settlements – issued when the offender did not pay the fine on time, or accepted a settlement from the public prosecutor to suspend the criminal proceedings.

Some 442,669 payment orders were further issued in 2023. Out of these, 72% or €53.7 million was collected.

Finally, in 2023, 142,309 criminal fines led to the payment of €99.8 million. The recovery rate for that type of fine was 52%.

As a result, in total during 2023, the Belgian state collected more than half a billion euros in fines for traffic violations.

The money was divided between the different levels of government. For example, in 2023, €152 million went to Flanders, €84.3 million was given to Wallonia and €27.4 million ended up in Brussels, making a total of €263.9 million.

The rest of the fine money went into the federal budget, which supports the federal police and local police zones.