Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Local officials shut down the E34 towards Antwerp in Sint-Gillis-Waas for a 1.5-hour period to deal with an intensive traffic accident yesterday evening.
Traffic on the E34 highway toward Antwerp in Sint-Gillis-Waas remained blocked for 1.5 hours due to a major traffic accident. A disabled vehicle skidded into a guardrail before another vehicle collided with it. The accident resulted in hospitalisation for both drivers and left their vehicles in severe damage. Emergency responders identified inadequate street lighting at the crash site as one of the elements that caused the incident.
Emergency services pointed to inadequate street lighting along the E34 since the city administration chose to deactivate all lights before this accident. Emergency teams believe the crash was caused partly by insufficient street lighting, which they argue led to poor visibility. Information indicates that the second driver could not spot the damaged vehicle before the crash occurred. Officials investigate what triggered the accident, while emergency responders emphasise poor lighting as a major contributing factor.
What is the background of street lighting on the E34?
The E34 falls under the jurisdiction of the Roads and Traffic Agency, which decided to implement a permanent street lighting deactivation measure at this site. The agency remains unresponsive to repeated emergency-related safety complaints regarding this decision. Relative statistics on road accidents in dark sections of highways are absent, but the recent incident encourages fresh discourse on road safety through proper lighting. The investigation focuses on determining whether insufficient illumination will lead to modifications in existing policies.
