The number of traffic fatalities on the Belgian road network has never risen as fast in the past 20 years as it did in the year 2019. That same year, there were no less than 644 traffic fatalities in our country. Needless to say, that's 644 too many.
An average of 30 fatal road accidents per year are due to cell phone use while driving. Almost one in three Belgians regularly uses a cell phone while driving.
The government has recently reached an agreement under which smart cameras will be used to detect cell phone use behind the wheel.
Currently, there is already an entire ANPR camera network active on the Flemish road network that can be deployed using Artificial Intelligence to check whether the driver of a vehicle is holding a phone. If this is indeed the case, the images will be forwarded to the police, who will then decide whether an offense has been committed.