Are Belgian roads under close surveillance? With a dense network of fixed speed cameras, Belgium is in a good position in the world rankings. Find out if our driving habits are really under the harshest eye in Europe.
With the constant increase in the number of vehicles on the roads, traffic accidents represent a major concern for public authorities. In order to limit speeding, which is among the main causes of road deaths, fixed speed cameras have established themselves as an effective solution widely adopted throughout the world.
Some countries stand out for their exceptional density of radars. 30 new devices planned in Wallonia, new section radars on the outskirts of Brussels, fight against excessively recurring fines in Flanders… In Belgium, speeding is under the microscope of the authorities. But how much? Is surveillance excessive compared to other European countries? We analyzed information collected by SCDB.info, the global speed camera database. And here are the conclusions that we can draw from it.
Ranking of countries with the most fixed speed cameras
This database lists the number of speed cameras present in each country (here, 104 out of 197 countries). However, SCDB.info only takes into account les radars fixes: namely red light (and speed) radars, fixed speed radars and section radars. But where are the most radars found in the world? And where does Belgium stand in this ranking of countries with the most fixed speed cameras?
Brazil
With a total of 19,521 radar fixesit is Brazil which dominates the ranking. His favorite device? The fixed speed radar. 15,388 of them are scattered throughout this large territory. The section radar is much less successful, since the database only reports 6. You should know that Brazil has more than 1.7 million kilometers of roads, of which approximately 17,000 kilometers are expressways. It is therefore not surprising that the country climbed to first place on the podium without difficulty.
Russia
In second position in this top 3, we find… Russia. In 2024, the country’s authorities have installed 18,450 devices of this kind. Here again, the fixed speed radar is very successful, with a total of 13,270 of these cabins. Given the size of the country, these figures are hardly surprising.
Italy
Italy, which has one of the largest road and motorway networks in Europe, completes this top. There are a total of 11.812 radarsincluding 8,503 fixed speed cameras, 2,401 red light cameras, and 656 section cameras. However, Italian motorists are known as road hazards… According to a recent survey, half of them believe that it is not dangerous to exceed the speed limits, while 8.4% of users questioned under -estimate the risks associated with alcohol and drugs while driving.
And in Belgium?
Belgium is not left out, and has largely made up for the accumulated delay. With his 3,384 fixed radars, it is placed in the top 10, and more precisely in 8th position in the ranking. It has 1,192 fixed speed radars, and 1,166 section radars. The latter are very widespread in our country and are now present throughout the country, even in quite remote areas. But what is special about them?
A speed camera is an automated control system designed to measure the average speed of a vehicle over a given distance, usually several hundred meters to a few kilometers. Unlike traditional radars which capture the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a specific point, section radar calculates the average speed that a vehicle takes to cover the distance between two specific points. If this average speed exceeds the authorized limit, the citizen risks a fine.
