FlandersFlanders

Drive on the right and normally overtake on the left.

Many core traffic rules are Belgian federal rules, including priority, seat belts, alcohol, mobile-phone use and many road-sign rules. Flanders has regional competence over matters including important speed rules, vehicle inspection and road management, so some rules differ from Brussels and Wallonia.

Call 112 for an ambulance, fire service or emergency assistance. For urgent police assistance in Belgium you can also call 101.

The ordinary Belgian limit applies: a driver becomes punishable from 0.5 g/L of alcohol in the blood, equivalent to 0.22 mg/L in exhaled air. A lower threshold of 0.2 g/L applies to specified professional drivers.

No separate lower alcohol threshold applies simply because a driver is young or inexperienced. The ordinary 0.5 g/L threshold applies, although novice drivers can face stricter consequences for serious traffic offences.

The general maximum inside a built-up area is 50 km/h, unless a lower or higher limit is indicated. Many residential, school and central urban areas are signed as Zone 30.

The general maximum on most roads outside built-up areas is 70 km/h. This is an important difference from Wallonia. A different speed such as 90 km/h can apply where it is specifically indicated by a traffic sign.

The general maximum on motorways is 120 km/h, unless a lower limit is posted. The same 120 km/h ceiling can apply on certain roads with at least two lanes in each direction where the opposing carriageways are physically separated.

Yes. Although the normal Flemish limit outside built-up areas is 70 km/h, a road authority can establish a 90 km/h limit by traffic sign on a suitable road.

Yes. For example, vehicles and combinations with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes are generally limited to 90 km/h on roads where the ordinary maximum is 120 km/h. Other vehicle-specific limits also apply.

Not yet. Ordinary passenger cars do not currently need a road vignette in Flanders. A common Belgian digital road vignette is planned from 1 May 2027, subject to final approval. Individual facilities such as the Liefkenshoek Tunnel near Antwerp can already charge a separate toll.

Yes. Goods vehicles covered by the Belgian Viapass kilometre charge, principally category N vehicles above 3.5 tonnes and certain N1 semi-trailer tractors, must use an activated On Board Unit. The charge depends on factors including the road, vehicle weight and emissions.

Yes. Antwerp and Ghent currently have low-emission zones. They operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and access depends mainly on the vehicle category, fuel and Euro emission standard. Local registration, exemption or paid-access rules can also apply.

No. The Flemish Government decided in November 2025 to cancel the previously planned tightening of the general LEZ access criteria. The existing emission criteria therefore remain in force, although cities can still set local conditions for paid access or exemptions.

Ordinary cars do not have a general requirement to use dipped headlights throughout normal daylight. Lights must be used at night and when visibility is insufficient.

Yes. Two-wheeled mopeds and motorcycles must use their dipped headlight and red rear light continuously while riding. Daytime running lights may replace dipped headlights where the applicable rules allow it.

Yes. The driver and passengers must wear a seat belt on seats equipped with one, subject to the limited statutory exemptions.

Children under 18 years old and shorter than 135 cm must normally travel in a suitable child-restraint system. Specific exceptions exist for particular vehicles and limited circumstances.

Yes. Drivers and passengers of motorcycles and the relevant classes of mopeds must wear an approved protective helmet.

Except when the vehicle is stationary or parked, a driver may not use, hold or manipulate a mobile electronic device with a screen unless it is fixed in a holder intended for that purpose.

The general Belgian rule is priority from the right. A driver must give way to a vehicle approaching from the right unless an exception applies, such as traffic signs, a roundabout or a vehicle coming from a prohibited direction.

A driver entering a roundabout must give way to traffic already circulating on the roundabout.

Yes. At an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, drivers must approach at moderate speed and give way to pedestrians who are on the crossing or about to enter it.

Leave at least 1 metre of lateral distance inside built-up areas and at least 1.5 metres outside built-up areas when passing a cyclist or two-wheeled moped rider.

Inside a built-up area, a driver travelling in the same direction must allow a bus or trolleybus to leave its stop when its driver signals the intention to pull out. You must slow down and stop if necessary.

In strongly congested traffic where a lane ends or becomes blocked, drivers should use both lanes until near the obstruction and then merge alternately. The driver on the continuing lane lets one vehicle merge; where lanes close on both sides, the vehicle from the right merges first and then the vehicle from the left.

Yes. As soon as a queue begins to form on a road with at least two lanes in the same direction, drivers must create a rescue corridor for priority vehicles. This rule applies on motorways and other roads, including roads inside built-up areas.

A valid EU or EEA driving licence is recognised in Belgium. A qualifying non-EU licence can also be recognised under the Geneva or Vienna conventions or a bilateral agreement. An International Driving Permit is therefore not universally mandatory; recognition depends on the licence concerned.

Yes. Motor vehicles used on Belgian public roads must have at least third-party liability insurance. Proof of insurance must be available in the vehicle.

Belgian vehicle rules require equipment including an approved warning triangle, retro-reflective safety vest, fire extinguisher and first-aid kit. The vest must be worn when the applicable breakdown rules require it, particularly when leaving a disabled vehicle in dangerous motorway or express-road situations.

Yes, but only when the road is covered by snow or ice. They are not intended for normal clear-road use.

A normal passenger car must generally undergo its first periodic technical inspection when it becomes 4 years old, calculated from its first registration. The validity date on the inspection certificate determines when the next inspection is due.

Since 1 September 2026, passenger cars generally have a two-year inspection period, subject to the applicable transitional and inspection-certificate conditions.

Traffic signs rely heavily on standard Belgian and international symbols, while written road information, place indications and supplementary text in Flanders are principally in Dutch.