Driving in Belgium means juggling three different regional rulebooks on top of a federal Code de la route, and the seams show. Speed limits change with the language: in Flanders the default outside built-up areas has been 70 km/h since 2017 (sign exceptions push selected stretches back up to 90), while across the linguistic border in Wallonia the same kind of country road is still 90 km/h.
Cross into the Brussels-Capital Region and the whole Region defaults to 30 km/h — the "Ville 30" regime in force since 1 January 2021 — with only the structural axes (parts of the R0 and a handful of penetration roads) signed at 50 or 70.
The other federal trap is priorité à droite. On any unsignalised intersection in a residential street, traffic coming from your right has priority by default — no triangle, no warning, just a side road full of parked cars and a small Renault emerging at speed.
Reforms have downgraded many junctions over the years, but the rule remains the default rather than the exception, and it catches Dutch, French and UK visitors in equal measure.
Brussels' R0 ring is chronically jammed in both directions during peak hours (roughly 07:00–10:00 and 16:00–19:00), and the A1/E19 corridor to Antwerp is rarely fluid. SmartMove, the Brussels congestion charge that was supposed to launch in 2022, remains parked.
Belgium also has no general motorway toll for cars; the only fixed car toll is the Liefkenshoektunnel north of Antwerp, currently €7.00 per crossing for a passenger car. Motorway lighting has been progressively switched off — Flanders since 2011, Wallonia between 22:00 and 05:00 — so the famous "Belgium glowing from space" night-photo is largely history.
Two recent changes are worth knowing. From 1 January 2026, the Brussels LEZ banned Euro 5 diesel and Euro 2 petrol cars, with a three-month grace period before the €350 fine kicks in; Antwerp and Ghent kept their existing access rules after the Flemish government paused the planned 2026 tightening on 19 September 2025.
Wallonia abandoned its region-wide LEZ in April 2024, so there is no Liège or Charleroi LEZ in force as of May 2026. Every car must still carry a 1 kg ABC powder fire extinguisher with a valid BENOR V sticker (5-year validity) — Belgium is one of only four EU countries to require one.
Reviewed by Pawan Priyadarshi
Founder of AutoviaTest · About the editor
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