‘Just take the train!’

Self-driving cars are not allowed on the road in Belgium. “I see a whole series of problems and risks,” says Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet.

In Germany, BMW and Mercedes have been given permission to sell level 3 cars. They can take control in certain situations, allowing the person behind the wheel to do something else.

Partly self-driving cars

Most modern cars – including Tesla’s – only reach level 2. They can take over certain tasks from the driver, but the latter must constantly pay attention and keep his hands on the wheel.

Oops! The BMW 5-Series and 7-Series are a bit too self-driving

Belgium bans level 3

Mercedes also wants to sell its level 3 models in Belgium, but the government is now blocking that. “I am not in favor,” says Minister Gilkinet. “It is an intermediate form of autonomous driving: people who are gaming in their car are not alert enough to be able to intervene quickly if necessary.”

‘Just take the train’

Gilkinet is nice and down to earth and thinks that people should get on the train. “Self-driving cars also get stuck in traffic jams and cause pollution. For long journeys, it is better to encourage people to take the train than to get into a self-driving car. They can also rest on the train.”

“Now self-driving Teslas are really coming,” Elon Musk shouts for the umpteenth time

Not allowed in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, cars with level 3 autonomy are also not allowed. This could well change in the future, because the EU is working on European legislation that does make level 3 possible.

Self-driving cars in the EU

The bill also talks about level 4 cars, which are actually fully self-driving, but only in certain areas or circumstances. The EU wants to impose a sales limit on this for the time being. A maximum of 1,500 level 4 cars may be sold per Member State. Those types of vehicles are still a long way from being on the market.