|June 2024 |.
Source: [www.fleet.be](https://www.fleet.be)
In 2021, 685,000 traffic fines for company cars were not linked to specific drivers. Since last year, the FPS Justice has been taking stricter action against companies that fail to identify their drivers. Companies are required by law to report the driver's identity to the Public Prosecutor's Office within 15 days of receiving a fine. Failure to do so can subject companies to criminal prosecution.
Sharon Beavis, FPS Justice spokeswoman, stresses the importance of digitalization for more efficient detection and prosecution of negligent companies. She points to the need for a unified and systematic approach to improve road safety and deal with repeat offenders. Thanks to the digitization of the judicial system, negligent companies can be detected and prosecuted more quickly.
Several measures have been taken in recent years to support businesses in complying with their obligations. The website for traffic fines became in March 2020, with modifications that increase user convenience, such as a feature that allows designated employees to manage all fines for a company and an overview of violations for the past 36 months.For large companies with extensive fleets of vehicles, a fully automated solution has been developed since 2019 in collaboration with the federation Renta. This solution facilitates the identification of drivers. AllConnects offers an in-vehicle driver identification solution for any company working with pool cars, or vehicles used by multiple drivers.
Click HERE for more information.
Despite these improvements, many companies are still failing to identify their drivers. However, initial figures from some pilot projects show that identification rates are rising sharply and that there is a change in attitude among the companies involved. Thanks to the additional helplines and simplified procedures, 3 out of 4 companies now comply with their identification obligation in the event of a new traffic fine, as opposed to 1 out of 3 previously.
If companies continue to fail to identify their drivers, they will be systematically prosecuted. Companies that repeatedly default will usually receive a settlement offer from the prosecutor's office. This gives them a chance to put their house in order for the remaining violations. If companies persist in failing to identify the driver, they will eventually be systematically prosecuted by company number. This strict crackdown is necessary to ensure road safety and reduce traffic fatalities.
The measures should help improve road safety by dealing more effectively with repeat offenders. Sharon Beavis emphasizes that there are currently more traffic deaths in our country than in neighboring countries, with 56 traffic deaths per million inhabitants. Stricter prosecution of traffic offenses by commercial vehicles is therefore essential to improve these figures.
Who is driving? Are driving hours and work schedules respected? Do your drivers all drive equally responsibly? As an employer, you are responsible for the actions of your employees when they are on the road. With AllConnects' driver identification track & trace module, you can instantly view the correct info about a driver at the moment it's needed:
Want to know more about our driver identification solution or receive a quick no-obligation quote? Contact us by phone or email: +32 3 289 55 35 | service@all-connects.be or click HERE for more information.
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