Belgium has 3,000km of traffic jams outside motorways

Not taking into account motorways, regional and provincial trunk roads (comparable to the A-roads) are seeing tailbacks of a total length of 3,000 kilometres each day. That’s according to calculations made by Be-Mobile, a Belgian company analysing traffic data. It’s the first research of its kind.

Traffic congestion information usually starts with the motorways, but there is of course much more than that. You will probably have noticed that there are many other types of traffic jams at various kinds of places, from big trunk roads to smaller roads, that never make the traffic bulletin. It may be impossible to put a concrete number on the total length of all traffic jams together, but Be-Mobile has made a particular effort, mapping traffic jams on important roads that are not motorways.

Investigators found that average morning rush hour jams on Flemish and Brussels regional roads total 3,350 kilometres, compared to 2,937 kilometres in the evening rush hour. The calculation of traffic jams outside motorways is a first, De Standaard reports. The length of the tailbacks was calculated via devices that were installed in commuters’ vehicles.

The figures are based on January, February and March and were calculated on measurements taken from three percent of the total number of cars (that are deemed representative). Be-Mobile considered slower traffic as ‘traffic congestion’ when motorists had to drive at least 60 percent slower than the maximum speed.

They found out that traffic jams on trunk roads are similar to congestion on motorways. It’s much more difficult to calculate them though, as they are spread across the whole country. While motorways have clear rush hour times, regional roads and trunk roads however can stay busy during the whole day with an ‘extra peak’ around noon.

Michaël Torfs / Flandersnews.be / Expatica