Driving in Belgium

The minimum age of a driver is 18 years. Children must be at least 12 years of age to sit in the front seat (unless a safety seat is fitted). The use of seat belts is compulsory for front- and rear-seat passengers. The legal blood alcohol limit is 50 mg. Speed limits are as follows: 50 kph (30 mph) in built-up areas, 90 kph (56 mph) outside built-up areas, and 120 kph (74 mph) on expressways.

In exception to the priority-on-your right rule, trams always have priority.

Headlights must be on between dusk and dawn and during inclement weather. Motorcycles must be operated with headlights on night and day. The horn should only be used outside built-up areas.

Police are empowered to impose and collect fines on the spot. Fines range from €20 to €150. You must place a security deposit if you refuse to pay. Police may request that you take a blood alcohol test; although you can by law refuse, you might as a result be arrested.

Parking

Blue Zone parking areas indicated by signs placed at their periphery exist in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Gent, Liège, and Öostende. However, where metres or the like are in place in the zones, discs are not required or sufficient. You can obtain a parking disc from police or service stations, some merchants, or offices of the RACB motoring club. Outside these zones a parking disc must be used where the parking sign includes an extra panel bearing the image of a disc or where the words "Disque Obligatoire" or "Schijf Verplicht" indicate the beginning of a Blue Zone. Don't park within 15 metres of a tram, bus or rail stop or near where tram or rail lines cross the road. Some parking garages are not manned on weekends and holidays; operate the barrier automatically with the proper coins. Wheel clamps are used in Antwerp and Gent.

Equipment

You are required to carry a warning triangle in your vehicle; though this does not apply to motorcyclists. Helmets are compulsory for motorcyclists and their passengers.

Tolls

There is a toll for the use of Antwerp's Liefkenshoek Tunnel.

Road Signs

Note that there are two languages generally spoken in Belgium: Dutch (Flemish) in the northern half, and French in Brussels and in the southern half. Antwerpen (Dutch) is Anvers (French); Brugge is Bruges; Bruxelles is Brussel; Gent is Gand; Luik is Liège; Leuven is Louvain; Namen is Namur; Bergen is Mons; and Doornik is Tournai. The words "Passage Difficile" and "Moeilijke Doorgang" indicate a difficult section. The word station in Dutch/Flemish indicates a train station; while the word in French is gare. International motorways are signified by green signs with white characters preceded by the letter E; national highways are noted by blue signs with white letters preceded by the letter A. As part of a new naming convention, lesser highways may have two road numbers both the old and the new preceded by an N.

Fuel

Most fuel stations are closed from 8pm. to 8am, and all day Sunday, but stations along expressways are open 24 hours, seven days a week. Major credit cards are accepted at stations in large towns and along the expressways. Leaded super fuel has an octane rating of 98 or 99. Unleaded fuel is known as normale sans plomb, essence sans plomb, ongelood, unverbleit, or loodvrije benzine. Unleaded regular has an octane rating of 92; the octane rating of super is 95.

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