Halle ( Brussels Morning Newspaper) – According to reports on Saturday, January 18, 2025, a motorist in his car was under the influence of alcohol when the vehicle had an accident with a flower box on the Brusselsesteenweg in Halle, leading to the car flipping over and ramming two parked vehicles. The incident occurred around 6:45 am, and the spot of examination was located just outside the midpoint of Halle.
The 54-year-old driver from Sint-Pieters Leeuw and his 45-year-old passenger from Halle escaped serious injuries, and both had to be rushed to the hospital.
“At that location on the Brusselsesteenweg, there is a central reservation with flower boxes on it,”
Explained Commissioner Alex Geboers of the Zennevallei police zone:
“He almost hit a flower stand and then went off the road and overturned the car.”
In the process, he struck two other cars that were parked on the side of the road. A pole at a bus stop was also lodged under the vehicle. There were no other cars involved in the accident.
Many accidents have been reported in Halle, including a driver who hit a flower box while drunk, turned over and damaged other parked vehicles. The driver and the passenger were injured but slightly, and the driver lost his license. Quoting the emergency services, by the time the fire brigade arrived, both subjects were already out of the car.
“They were taken to hospital with minor injuries,”
stated Wouter Jeanfils of the Flemish Brabant West fire department.
Apart from this, the driver who was involved in the accident was charged with drunken driving and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.65 per mile. Thus, his driving license was suspended for 15 days, and there was a report that might result in a case before a police judge. One of the cars that were parked when the accident occurred received considerable damage and proved the threat of drunken driving.
The ongoing issue of drunk driving in Belgium
This case leads us to once again address a problem concerning drunk driving and the fatalities it brings to Belgium. The level of alcohol and substance-impaired driving continues to be a worry, more so reaching many uninsured drivers’ cases annually as they cause accidents leading to injuries and sometimes fatalities. Based on the statistics from previous years, it is sad to note that crashes related to alcohol consume a considerable proportion of road accidents during holidays and weekends when social functions are common.
Lately, measures against the drunk driving offence have been recently stepped up by installing more checkpoints and launching awareness campaigns to inform drivers of the consequences of alcohol consumption while driving a vehicle. For example, several recent cases that involved celebrities have contributed to raising awareness towards this issue, which entails debates about increased punishment for offenders.
Furthermore, local governments have been looking for other methods to embrace other means of transport to reduce high-risk travel among locals, such as encouraging the use of locally recognised online hailing services and public transport promotions.
From this recent hit-and-run incident within the Halle, it is demonstrable that even minor accidents can turn fatal when drivers decide to drive under the influence of alcohol, thereby causing not only self-harm but harm to fellow individuals on the road. However, the desire to maintain awareness of these pitfalls and foster overall continued social interaction and driver awareness and responsibility is important in eliminating such incidences in the future across Belgium.
