Traffic lawyer in Leuven: your defence before the police court

Summoned to appear before the police court in Leuven? If you are looking for a traffic lawyer in Leuven, Mr Mohamed Asfour, lawyer, assists you in all traffic cases, from drink driving and speeding to accidents causing injury. The Leuven police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) hears the traffic cases of the entire judicial district: from the E40 and the E314 to the narrow streets of a student city where cyclists, e-scooters and cars constantly cross paths. That mix explains why a relatively high proportion of cases here involve bodily injury — and why sentencing is rarely a formality.

Leuven police court: practical information

• Leuven Police Court, Ferdinand Smoldersplein 5, 3000 Leuven — court registry: 02 682 15 35.
• Competent for traffic cases from the judicial district of Leuven, including Leuven, Tienen, Aarschot, Haacht, Diest and the surrounding municipalities.
• Proceedings are conducted in Dutch; if you only know French, or express yourself more easily in French, you can ask for the case to be referred to a French-speaking court (Article 23 of the Act of 15 June 1935 on the use of languages in judicial matters – wet op het gebruik der talen in gerechtszaken / loi concernant l’emploi des langues en matière judiciaire). More on changing the language of proceedings.
• Your lawyer can represent you; you only need to appear in person if the judge orders it. Even for a community service sentence (werkstraf / peine de travail), it is sufficient for you to consent through your lawyer (Article 45 of the Criminal Code). More on appearing in person.

The most common cases in Leuven

Drink driving after a night out

Weekend checks and checks during the academic year produce many cases involving young drivers. The alcohol limit for them is the same as for other drivers: 0.22 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air (UAL), which corresponds to 0.5 g/l in the blood. A special rule does apply, however: anyone who has held a category B driving licence for less than two years must, for an offence that can lead to a driving ban, receive a mandatory driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire) and pass at least the theory or practical test before driving again (Article 38, § 5 of the Road Traffic Act, Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). Few drivers realise this in advance, which makes a well-prepared hearing all the more important.

For offences committed from 1 September 2026, driving with 0.22 to less than 0.35 mg/l is a level 1 offence carrying a fine of €250 to €5,000; from 0.35 mg/l, or if you refuse the test, it remains a level 1 offence, but the fine is €2,000 to €20,000. Since November 2025, the Leuven public prosecutor’s office has applied a threshold of 0.35 mg/l for the immediate withdrawal of the driving licence (onmiddellijke intrekking / retrait immédiat) — the statutory minimum (Article 55 of the Road Traffic Act) — compared with 0.50 mg/l previously. That withdrawal lasts fifteen days and can be extended by the police court by up to three months (Article 55bis). More on drink driving and on immediate withdrawal of the licence.

Accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians

In an accident causing injury, the police court rules on both the criminal aspect and the compensation. For offences committed from 1 September 2026, the charge is causing harm to physical integrity in traffic (integriteitsaantasting in het verkeer / atteinte à l’intégrité dans le cadre de la circulation, Article 218 of the Criminal Code), formerly the offence of unintentional assault and wounding: a level 2 penalty, meaning imprisonment of six months to three years or another penalty of that level, such as community service or a probation sentence, and, where there are mitigating circumstances, a level 1 penalty. For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the rules in force at that time continue to apply, unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code).

If you are convicted both of causing harm to physical integrity in traffic and of reoffending within three years with a serious alcohol or drug offence (Article 36 of the Road Traffic Act), a driving ban of at least six months follows, together with the four reinstatement tests (herstelexamens / examens de réintégration; Article 38, § 2). In a fatal accident, the offence is homicide in traffic (doding in het verkeer / homicide dans le cadre de la circulation, Article 107 of the Criminal Code), a level 3 penalty: imprisonment of more than three years up to five years. More on fatal road accidents.

Who exactly was at fault is rarely straightforward in such cases. Vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists or passengers — also benefit from a special compensation scheme, regardless of fault (Article 29bis of the Compulsory Motor Insurance Act of 21 November 1989, known as the WAM-wet / loi RC auto).

Speeding in 30 zones and near schools

In built-up areas, in a 30 zone, a school zone, a residential zone or a shared zone (woonerf / erf), immediate payment of a fine on the spot (onmiddellijke inning / perception immédiate) is no longer possible when the speed limit is exceeded by more than 30 km/h (Article 7 of the Royal Decree of 19 April 2014), and a driving ban is then, as a rule, mandatory (Article 29 § 3 of the Road Traffic Act). In Leuven, where large parts of the city centre are a 30 zone, that threshold is reached sooner than drivers expect. For offences committed from 1 September 2026, the Road Traffic Act punishes speeding with a level 1 penalty, with a fine of €100 to €5,000, in addition to any driving ban. More on speeding offences.

Drug driving

A positive saliva test is not yet proof. Only the saliva analysis carried out by an accredited laboratory counts, with its own threshold for each substance — and you can have a second analysis carried out at your own expense, if you wish under the supervision of a technical adviser. The deadline for requesting that second analysis is short. More on roadside drug checks.

For offences committed from 1 September 2026, driving under the influence of drugs (Article 37bis, § 1 of the Road Traffic Act) is a level 1 offence carrying a fine of €2,000 to €20,000. Reoffending within three years is a level 2 offence, with a fine of €4,000 to €50,000. The Act of 25 May 2026 also adds ketamine to the list in Article 37bis, but this change only enters into force on a date to be set by the King; moreover, the saliva tests commonly used do not yet detect it.

Driving without insurance

The Belgian Common Guarantee Fund (Belgisch Gemeenschappelijk Waarborgfonds / Fonds commun de garantie belge) compensates the victims and then recovers the full amount, as a rule from the owner of the uninsured vehicle. Note the element that is often overlooked: the keeper and the driver are only criminally liable if they know that the vehicle is uninsured (Article 22 of the Compulsory Motor Insurance Act). For offences committed from 1 September 2026, a level 1 penalty applies, without imprisonment; for older offences, the law provided for imprisonment of eight days to six months and a fine of €100 to €1,000, to be multiplied by the statutory surcharge (opdeciemen / décimes additionnels). More on driving without insurance.

What your traffic lawyer in Leuven does for you

1. Requesting and reviewing the criminal case file: calibration certificates, the drug-test checklist, statements, the accident reconstruction.
2. Documenting your personal situation — studies, work, traineeship, family circumstances — because that is what drives the sentence. When setting the fine, the court takes your financial means into account and may go below the statutory minimum if your financial situation is precarious (Article 52, § 2 of the Criminal Code).
3. Arguing for a suspension of the pronouncement (opschorting / suspension du prononcé) or a suspended sentence (uitstel / sursis), including for the driving ban (Articles 64 and 65 of the Criminal Code), or for a driving ban limited to weekends (Article 38, § 2bis of the Road Traffic Act). More on the more lenient penalties.
4. Arguing for a limited set of reinstatement tests, or for a specific training course which, since 1 January 2026, can supplement or replace those tests (Article 38, § 3), and asking the court to take their cost into account when setting the fine.
5. In injury cases: following up the civil side of the case as well, in consultation with your insurer.

After the judgment

If you were convicted by default (bij verstek / par défaut), you can lodge an objection (verzet / opposition) within fifteen days of service of the judgment. A judgment given after both sides were heard can be appealed to the criminal court (correctionele rechtbank / tribunal correctionnel) of Leuven within thirty days of its delivery. Within that same period, you must file a grievance form (grievenformulier / formulaire de griefs) setting out your objections precisely, failing which the appeal lapses. More on objection and appeal.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to appear in person at the Leuven police court?

Usually not. Your lawyer can represent you and can also consent to community service on your behalf. You only have to attend yourself if the judge orders you to appear in person.

Is there a lower alcohol limit for young drivers?

No. Novice drivers are subject to the ordinary limit of 0.22 mg/l UAL; the stricter limit of 0.09 mg/l applies to professional drivers. The difference lies in the sanction: anyone who has held a category B licence for less than two years must, for an offence that can lead to a driving ban, receive a mandatory ban and pass at least the theory or practical test.

What penalties apply under the new Criminal Code?

For offences committed from 1 September 2026, the traffic laws work with penalty levels (strafniveaus / niveaux de peine). Drink driving, drug driving, speeding and driving without insurance are, as a rule, level 1 offences, without imprisonment. Reoffending with alcohol or drugs, driving without a licence and causing harm to physical integrity in traffic fall under level 2. More on the new Criminal Code.

Can my case be heard in French?

The Leuven police court works in Dutch. If you only know French or express yourself more easily in French, you can ask for your case to be referred to a French-speaking court; the judge may refuse that request in certain circumstances. If you do not understand Dutch, you are in any event entitled to an interpreter.

Novex Advocaten

Mr Mohamed Asfour, lawyer, pleads before the police courts of Leuven, Halle, Vilvoorde, Aalst and Brussels, in Dutch, French, English and Arabic. The office is located at Avenue Louise 379, 1050 Brussels.

Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.