Express summary: the entire Belgian highway code at a glance

1. Speed limits by region (table no. 1)

In Belgium, the speed limit depends on the region. It's the most common trap: outside built-up areas, Flanders and Wallonia don't have the same limit.

2. Priority: the order to remember

To know who goes, you always work down this order, from strongest to weakest:

1. An authorised official (their signals override everything, even traffic lights).
2. Traffic lights.
3. Priority signs (B1, B5, B9, B15, B17) and road markings.
4. Failing all of those: priority from the right.

B1 — Give way

B5 — Stop

B9 — Priority road

💡 Triangle pointing down = you give way (B1). Red octagon = full stop compulsory (B5), even if the road is clear. Yellow diamond = you have priority (B9).

B19 — You give way

B21 — You go first

💡 Look at the red arrow: that's you. If the red arrow has to pull in (B19), you give way to oncoming traffic. If the red arrow has priority (B21), you go.

3. Stopping or parking + the metres to remember

Stopping = you drop off/pick up people or things, for the time needed, without leaving the vehicle for long. Parking = everything else (you stay put longer). Some places prohibit only parking, others prohibit stopping too.

E1 — No parking

E3 — No stopping AND no parking

💡 One red stroke (E1) = you may stop briefly, but not park. A red cross (E3) = nothing at all, not even stopping.

The parking signs that trip people up

E5 — prohibited from the 1st to the 15th

E7 — prohibited from the 16th to the end of the month

💡 E5 = prohibited from the 1st to the 15th · E7 = prohibited from the 16th to the end of the month. With alternate-side parking: from the 1st to the 15th you park on the odd-numbered side, from the 16th to the end on the even side — and you switch sides on the last day of the period, between 19:30 and 20:00.

• Blue zone: disc compulsory, arrow on the line following your arrival time, max 2 h (unless stated otherwise).
• Broken-down vehicle: max 24 h on the public highway. Advertising vehicle: max 3 h. Putting your vehicle up for sale on the public highway: prohibited.

4. Speed, following distance and stopping distance

To turn a speed into metres per second, one single formula: km/h ÷ 3.6 = m/s. Example: 90 ÷ 3.6 = 25 m/s — at 90 km/h, you cover 25 metres every second.

The stopping distance = reaction distance (you're still moving while your brain reacts) + braking distance (once you're on the brakes).

5. Overtaking: the prohibitions

You overtake on the left. Two exceptions where you overtake on the right: the tram, and a vehicle that has moved over to turn left. Overtaking is prohibited:

• On a pedestrian crossing and just before it.
• Approaching and on a level crossing without barriers.
• At the top of a hill and in a bend without visibility (outside built-up areas, solid line).
• When the vehicle in front is already overtaking (double overtaking).

6. The driver: alcohol, drugs, fatigue

7. The vehicle: children, breakdowns and accidents

The vehicle's lights

Documents, trailers and MAM

• On board, always: identity card, driving licence, registration certificate, insurance, certificate of conformity, roadworthiness test (if required) — 6 documents.
• Trailer: prohibited with a provisional driving licence; with a category B licence, max 750 kg MAM (beyond that: B+E or code B96).
• MAM = maximum authorised mass set by the manufacturer; the actual laden mass = the real loaded weight. Category B licence: vehicles up to 3.5 t MAM.
• Studded tyres: from 1 November to 31 March — max 90 km/h on motorways, 60 km/h elsewhere.

8. The trick signs (learn to tell them apart)

A sign's family in 1 second — more than 10 questions in the bank simply ask for its category:

C1 — No entry

C3 — Access prohibited (both directions)

💡 Red circle with a white bar (C1) = no entry, traffic may come the other way towards you. Entirely red circle with a border (C3) = access prohibited to everyone, in both directions.

A7a — on both sides

A7b — on the left

A7c — on the right

💡 The drawing shows the side that narrows. A7b = narrowing on the left, A7c = on the right, A7a = on both sides.

D1 — Compulsory direction

C31 — No turning

D5 — Compulsory roundabout

💡 Round blue sign = you MUST follow the arrow (obligation). White sign with a red border = you CANNOT (prohibition). The colour tells you everything before you even read the symbol.

9. The 15 numbers to know by heart