Five Things To Remember When Driving In Belgium
Don’t you just love the feel of an open road, wind in your hair, music playing and the promise of a destination ahead? If you do, driving in Belgium may not be the best option for you and I’m not just talking about the weather.
Here are five hard-earned lessons that I discovered about driving in Belgium:
- The dreaded priorite a droit means that you should give way to anyone approaching from the right. This means that if you are on a major thoroughfare and someone is chugging his way on a country lane and is about to join your route he has the right of way if he’s approaching from the right. You’ll need a overly sensitive right foot until you get used to this.
- The important thing to note about traffic lights is that if you manage to overstep the line before they turn red, then you’re clear. This is mainly because of the cameras perched on top of the lights that cannot catch your number plate if you’ve moved beyond a certain point. It also explains the large amounts of gridlock in city centres.
- Make sure that you know how your destination is spelt in both French and Dutch. Due to the language problems that they have, you may think that you haven’t seen a sign yet when in actual fact there would have been plenty, just in another language.
- The general rule on the motorways is that you should not hog the fast lane. Judging by the reactions I get, you should not hog the slow lane either. The middle lane can annoy people so perhaps the best thing to do is just move from one lane to another as often as you can.
- Belgian drivers assume that a car’s bumpers are meant to show when you’ve hit the car in front of you whilst parking. If you care for your wheels, I’d find a garage for them if I were you.
I would also recommend a colourful vocabulary as it can be handy from time to time.
Well, that’s a bit too much, isn’t it.
The priorité DE droite (not A droite) has been invented by the French, in Paris, and is a logical application knowing the fact that some roads doesn’t have loads of panes.
For the bumpers, you’re wrong, that’s Rome you’re talking about.
And finally, on the motorway, you simply have to keep the right lane as much as you can in order to let faster vehicles overstep you as needed. There is nothing more annoying that stupid drivers staying on the same lane and blocking traffic as you CAN’T overstep to the left inside of the road.
Anyhow, I never said that was easy, but it’s needed.
Hello DRL,
Thanks for correcting my French – which always needs lots of work. I know it was invented by the French but since it applies in Belgium too, then it merits mentioning. It may be logical to some but I prefer the English way of doing things: ‘Give Way’ signs all the way and if in doubt, you should stop not have the right of way.
For the bumpers, I am right and my front and rear bumpers are testimony to this. The bumpers of my neighbours’ cars are also similarly dented.
For the motorway (I’m just back from a 5-hour trip) the traffic is erratic and few people stick to the right-most lane sadly.
I agree with you though – it is not easy!
Point two is a particularly good one. When turning left at the lights they all bunch up waiting for the oncoming traffic to clear and it does not matter one jot how long they have had a red light, they are turning left when it’s clear. If they have a coat of paint over that white line then they are turning left and they don’t give a hoot that the light is now red. It’s amazing how long you can sit at a green light waiting for this left turning traffic to clear.
Indulge in the UK common sense of staying out of the lights if there are already several vehicles waiting to turn left(as you would in a box junction) then the horn goes behind you. Belgium is not good at road safety and driving standards are on the whole poor. To lane discipline though, the UK has nothing to shout about. You would think the rule to keep left had been abolished.
Priority to the right is an ongoing disaster. In many, many cases it’s simply not possible for a driver driving at normal speed to keep track of priorities, in many cases completely invisible side roads have priority, and even if you know the road on a dark wet knight, some other poor begger that does not can ruin both your days. Should absolutely be abolished.
Mike – I can’t understand why there is no such thing as “keep the junction clear” here in Belgium – it certainly would ease lots of traffic, that’s for sure!
What I don’t understand is the roundabouts. Does priorite de droite apply? I don’t think it does? Why not?
Lane control on the motorways is waaaay better here than in the UK though.
Also, you forgot about the beeping – it doesn’t really acheive anything, although I have taken it up with great enthusiasm!
“What I don’t understand is the roundabouts. Does priorite de droite apply? I don’t think it does? Why not? ”
No it does not, but with the odd exception thrown in to keep you on your toes. The reason is that the roundabouts quickly became gridlocked when using priority to the right and so did the exact opposite of it’s function, smoothing traffic. Also beware older drivers who will still take priority joining the roundabout.
Another 20 years or so they may just work out how to use one properly.
Oh the joys of elderly drivers … and in Belgium, it’s entirely possible that their driving test was nothing more than a formality too!
Unexpectedtraveller…It would, eh? The big junction in Waterloo near the stonemanor is a good example. In the rush hour they have the police there forcing drivers to keep the junction clear. I suppose a yellow box and a new rule would put the poor guy out of a job?
Exactly, Mike – and there is another junction on the Chausee Brugmann in Uccle close to where I live .. that has uniformed police there during rush hour precisely for this reason.
It’s such a simple thing to do …
Ah the joys of driving!!
Enjoyed this post as some/much applies to Nederland as well. I’ll have you know I drove to Antwerpen/Anvers two weeks ago and managed very well, thank you. That’s because the Netherlands also has the ‘right priority’ rule, and with all the dang bicycles, I’ve learned to just go slowly through roundabouts and intersections, always use turn signals and ALWAYS assume there are pedestrians and cyclists about to pop up. Bottom line, constantly scanning, defensive driving. Thank goodness we don’t have to deal with the rules of the autobahn!
Linda – Driving is one of those activities that may seem the same the world over but is actually subtly different from one place to another. I’ve driven up to Utrecht recently and found the state of the roads and the overall driving to be slightly better than it was here … or maybe that was just a fluke!
And I thought Dutch drivers were bad
[...] does not mean that I am becoming completely Belgian. I have yet to develop a need to drive like a lunatic, to wrap scarves around lamp posts or even a need to high light my door [...]
[...] Which explains a lot. [...]
I can definitely relate to #4, but was surprised to hear that the British got a bad rap for this… “Lane control on the motorways is waaaay better here than in the UK though.” Welcome to Brussels. Perhaps our critical side is sharper when we perceive ourselves to be surrounded/outnumbered by “foreigners”, an insecurity thing
I was surprised to hear that too expatlogue – my experience of the UK is that the drivers re, on the whole, reasonably well behaved.
Whew. After enjoying a couple of visits traveled largely by train, we were thinking about touring Belgium by car, but now I’m not so sure!
Train is certainly a more civilised way to see the country even though, at times, the service leaves a little to be desired. I’m tempted to say that sticking to country lanes may be safer but the reality may be a little different!
[...] follows the British way of life in many ways, I confess to having been a little apprehensive when driving in Belgium for the first time. Now it is second nature. Now, I easily switch from one way of seeing the road [...]
I am also fairly new to driving in Belgium. I haven’t got a car here (after a week or two without seeing a car without parking damage I decided against bringing my pride and joy here), but have been riding my motorbike here in Brussels for a few months now, and your comments ring pretty true. The squares in particular are cause for great care, I never know which are being treated as roundabouts and which are not. I also find that the signposts are usually right AT a junction, rahter than before it (and so too late for you to decide which lane you should be in).
Isn’t that just the worse – being given driving instructions too late to be of any use?
Especially when it’s unfamiliar, you are on the wrong side of the road, the rules are subtly different, and you have the normal motor biking issue that everyone else on the road is actively trying to kill you (not that I’m paranoid, it’s just that they are all out to get me).
Of course they’re out to get you .. We all received that memo!
Priorité de droite only applies to roads of same size and traffic. If you are on a major road then the side roads do not have priority.
I however agree that this makes driving less obvious and less safe.
B
That is a good point to know (which I did not)
Thanks Benoit!
My goal is to drive as little as possible or not at all.
Very interesting blog. Cheers.
A sane approach .. Especially in certain places …
[...] seem very keen to know what should be kept in mind when driving in Belgium. Can’t say I blame [...]
In my opinion the priorite de droite rule should only be used in the 30km/h zones or residential areas just like in Germany. In Germany all major or relatively major roads have the priority road sign (diamond sign), while all the side roads have yield signs. Having to slow down at every intersection in Belgium is plain nuts!
Dear Pacikk,
That is a sensible option. However, Belgium is hardly the place for sensible things …
It’s basically the same here in Belgium, priority to the right only applies to inside built up areas with 50 or 30 limits while other roads have the yellow diamond sign meaning you don’t need to give priority.
What hasn’t been mentioned is the truly frightening acceptance of drink driving in Brussels. One of our friends actually believes that he drives better after a bottle of wine and we once watched an old fella get into a Boxter and drive it off after having to helped out of his seat by the waitress of the bar and then have his pants fall around his ankles whilst trying to get the key in the door. His friends’ only comment was that he does it every week and the advice to stop even at green traffic lights at night just to make sure that someone isn’t going to barrel straight through the red lights on their side!
Also the Belgians are great lovers of the inappropriate U-Turn and have no compunctions at blocking a street for 1/2 an hour waiting for a parking space to become available.
And if the Nürburgring is just too dull for you try the roundabout at Meiser in rush hour, in the dark and rain for a truly edge of the seat moment!
Good point there … I haven’t experienced this myself but this can always be worrying, can’t it?