On 29 June 2009, the City of Antwerp introduced a quad ban in its built-up area and on the unpaved roads outside it. As a result, quad owners living in Antwerp could no longer use their legal vehicle from one day to the next. The ban was annulled by judgment of the Council of State of 9 February 2012, after which the City of Antwerp again issued the quad ban on 5 March 2012, this time as an additional traffic regulation.

Belgian FEMA member the Motorcycle Action Group Belgium (MAG) has always opposed these measures. With its support, an Antwerp quad user also initiated an annulment procedure before the Council of State against these new regulations. Currently, the Council of State has also annulled this ban on quads introduced by the City of Antwerp, with effect from 18 January 2020, in its judgment of 17 December 2019. The City of Antwerp has until 17 January 2020 to remove all prohibition signs. Let’s be clear: until 17 January 2020, the ban will therefore still apply.

According to Stefaan Claeys, the MAG lawyer who represented the interests of quad users, the ban was annulled on the following grounds: a general quad ban is disproportionate: there is no reasonable link of proportionality between this ban and the intended purpose. The possibility to apply for permission does not affect this. The Auditor has already stated that possible nuisance by private quad users can be tackled by simply applying the road traffic regulations, as is the case for other vehicles.

Master Stefaan Claeys: “This confirms that it does not apply to an entire group. You can not prohibit legal road users from using their vehicles to avoid the inconvenience caused by some of them. Those who cause nuisance must be tackled by means of road traffic regulations, as is the case for all other road users.”

Top image courtesy of Wikipedia