Some of the changes have already been revealed and have met with widespread approval from expert groups. Thus, the principle of ritsen will become obligatory: that’s when two lines of traffic merge into one, each alternate vehicle taking turns, like the teeth of a zipper (rits).
Along the same lines of transforming the bleeding obvious into legislation, motorcyclists will in future have legal permission to ride up the side or the centre of a traffic jam, which each and every one of them already does. However, it took until 1994 in Belgium before the law was changed to make it illegal for drivers not to stop for pedestrians on a marked crossing; prior to that date you were taking your life in your hands every time you crossed the road.
The rule whereby parking is allowed on some streets on one side at the start of the month and on the other side at the end of the month, will be scrapped. “I can think of no reason to keep this in place,” commented Stijn Daniëls, a researcher in traffic science at the University of Hasselt. Instead, streets will be marked with parking places left and right, creating a sort of slalom effect which, it is hoped, will slow traffic.
On the road signs issue, some of the more confusing models will be replaced by a European variant: signs warning of road works ahead, of mist and of slippery road surfaces, for example. And there’s even a proposal to scrap the bugbear of all foreigners: priority to the right. Instead, all major roads would automatically become priority roads. But that’s still under discussion.
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