700 drivers flashed during Highlight Festival

The festival with 11,000 visitors took place at the Zuiderring in Ypres, the parking lot was on the Meenseweg. If you go to Ypres, you can first drive 70 kilometers per hour, then 90. But just before that there would have been only one sign indicating the start of zone 30.

Many motorists did not notice that sign. Maxim Vermeeren, municipal councilor in Zonnebeke and police councilor of the Arro Ypres police zone, wrote an open letter about this on social media, which has been widely shared. His wife also received two fines.

“The speed could have been gradually reduced from 70 to 50 and then to 30. This did not happen. A sign could have been placed 200m before the speed limit to warn people that a speed limit of 30 km/h was coming further up the road. Now there was only 1 sign, resulting in a sudden and abrupt deceleration from 70 to 30 km/h,” Vermeeren writes.

“One temporary sign with a speed limit of 30 km/h was placed at the Wulvestraat, and the speed radar was set up barely 50 meters further. No wonder that many violations were observed. Even if one had seen the sign, one would not have time to reduce speed safely, without braking abruptly. In addition, violations were observed after 10 p.m. at a time when one sign C43 is hardly visible.”

Ypres Mayor Emmily Talpe says she will look into the matter.