The Belgian Institute for road safety VIAS believes that the government and the police should do more to prevent drivers who have committed a traffic violation from recurring. VIAS in Belgium wants to focus more on informing to prevent recurrence. This can, if it is up to the road safety authority, be achieved, among other things, by sending SMS messages to drivers who have been caught in a violation.
How? Well, when a motorist is ‘caught’ by a speed camera for driving too fast or by a red light, it also takes a few weeks in Belgium before the fine falls on the doormat. According to VIAS, the probability of recurrence in that intermediate period is quite high. Especially when the offender himself did not notice that he or she flashed.
In order to convince the respective motorist earlier that he or she has gone wrong, they should receive a text message shortly after the ‘flash moment’. Of course, it says that the driver has committed a traffic violation. In this way, according to VIAS, the motorist is immediately aware of the violation and the risk of recurrence is reduced.