How is one Aalst family turning eleven years of grief into a fight for safer roads?

The ceremony is not simply a replay of an old news event. It shows how roadside remembrance can become a durable form of civic participation. Johanna and Axelle’s relatives have kept attention on intoxication, speed and the human cost hidden behind traffic statistics. Their words — that society must keep fighting for greater road safety — carry added force because the campaign has continued long after the criminal proceedings and initial public attention faded.

The wider figures offer both encouragement and a warning. VRT NWS, citing final Vias

Organisation

Vias

The road-safety institute whose final figures recorded Belgian and Flemish road deaths in 2024.

Why it matters

The road-safety institute whose final figures recorded Belgian and Flemish road deaths in 2024.

About

Vias is a resort town and commune located in the Hérault department of the Occitanie region of Southern France.

Official site ↗View source record ↗

Enforcement data point in the same direction. VRT NWS reported that authorities recorded 6.9 million traffic offences in 2024, with speeding the most common. More cameras and a greater chance of detection partly explain that total, so it cannot simply be read as evidence that behaviour worsened. It does, however, underline why bereaved families resist complacency: rules only protect people when street design, enforcement and everyday choices reinforce one another.

There is a genuine policy tension here. Families of road victims and organisations such as Ouders van Verongelukte Kinderen tend to emphasise consequences, recognition and effective sanctions for dangerous conduct. Justice officials, magistrates and defence lawyers must also preserve proportionality, distinguish negligence from more culpable behaviour and ensure that new offences are legally workable. Meanwhile, mobility specialists stress that punishment after a death cannot substitute for safer junctions, lower speeds and infrastructure that anticipates human error. These positions are not mutually exclusive, but they place different weight on prevention, deterrence and legal classification.

People do not need to wait for a serious collision before acting. For a recurring problem such as speeding, poor visibility, an unsafe crossing or pavement obstruction, note the exact street, house number or junction, direction of travel and time pattern. Photographs can help when they are taken safely and without obstructing traffic. Send the information to the mobility or public-works service of the relevant stad or gemeente in Flanders, or the service mobilité of the commune in Brussels or Wallonia. On a regional road, the municipality can identify or forward the dossier to the competent regional road authority.

Language matters in Belgium’s divided administrative landscape. In Aalst, correspondence and municipal procedures are in Dutch; useful search terms include “melding,” “mobiliteit,” “verkeersveiligheid” and “gevaarlijke situatie.” In a French-speaking commune, ask for “mobilité,” “sécurité routière” or a “signalement.” Brussels residents should use the language channel offered by their commune and may also need Brussels Mobility when the location is on a regional road. Emergency operators can handle urgent calls, but callers should first give the municipality or commune, street, nearest number or junction, direction of travel, type of incident and number of injured people.

If a crash has already occurred, the Federal Police advises calling 112 immediately when somebody is injured and not moving vehicles unless safety makes it necessary. In a damage-only collision where vehicles remain driveable, photograph the positions if it is safe, clear the carriageway and complete the European Accident Statement for the insurers. Flanders’ official portal directs injured people, relatives and witnesses to Rondpunt’s practical guide and to slachtofferzorg.be for information about rights, care and emotional support. In Dutch-speaking Flanders, CAW Slachtofferhulp provides victim support; equivalent services can be located through the French-language “aide aux victimes” channels in Wallonia and Brussels.

These practical steps cannot carry the emotional weight borne by Johanna and Axelle’s family. They can, however, turn concern into usable evidence, faster assistance and pressure for prevention. The next important dates are the entry into force and first application of Belgium’s new criminal-law provisions on deaths in traffic, followed by publication of newer road-fatality data. What remains unknown is how courts will distinguish the most serious conduct in practice and whether enforcement and safer infrastructure will reduce deaths quickly enough to meet the 2030 goal. In Kwalestraat, the family’s answer is already clear: remembrance must continue to demand action.