Flemish Brabant (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Flemish Brabant recorded over 85,000 GAS fines in 2024, reflecting a sharp rise in administrative sanctions across the province, official data reveals.
Although speeding and unlawful parking are also factors in GAS fines, most people think of nuisances when they think of them. Vilvoorde leads the way in GAS fines for annoyance, with 555 fines.
“Municipalities in Flemish Brabant can choose to entrust the handling of GAS files to the province”,
Says provincial councillor Sanne Eeckelers (N-VA) from Londerzeel. She requested the figures.
“More than three quarters of the municipalities work this way.”
The major reasons for GAS penalties are excessive speed, improper parking, and nuisance.
“Last year, the province processed almost 2,000 nuisance files in 41 municipalities,”
Says Eeckelers.
“Almost 4,000 files were about GAS parking, and 80,000 files were drawn up for speeding violations.”
With 555 fines for GAS nuisance offenses, the City of Vilvoorde leads the field. Diest rounds out the top three with 108, and Tienen comes in second with 285. With 1,483 fines, Tienen received the most GAS penalties in the parking category.
Tervuren penned 551 while Diest wrote 628. Tremolo (25,992), Rotselaar (13,973), and Bekkevoort (9,591) are the top three for speeding fines in Belgium.
“More and more municipalities are interested in involving the province,”
Eeckelers continues.
“Currently, 11 municipalities are calling on the province for GAS speeding violations, but 10 other municipalities are also showing interest.”
What measures are taken to reduce GAS fines for nuisance in Flemish Brabant?
In order to detect and punish nuisance activities, including vandalism, littering, noise disturbances, speeding, and unlawful parking, many towns assign specialised GAS officers to patrol neighbourhoods. By using visible punishment, this proactive strategy seeks to discourage disturbance.
Through local ordinances, municipalities specify particular nuisance behaviours and the associated penalties, making it clear what is considered a punishable infraction. This lessens arbitrary enforcement and helps locals understand expectations.
In order to encourage voluntary compliance before fines are imposed, authorities frequently launch efforts to educate the public about nuisance legislation and the penalties for infractions.
In an effort to lessen disputes and recurring infractions, municipalities look into reports of nuisances and may try to settle them through discussion and mediation before levying fines.
