Mechelen cancels 60 fines issued to drivers following police fire diversion
Mechelen authorities are cancelling about 60 fines wrongly issued to motorists who passed a traffic restriction while following a police diversion during a fire on Koningin Astridlaan.
Drivers following police directions must be able to do so without being penalised by an automated enforcement system. Cancellation and automatic repayment limit the immediate harm, but individual written confirmation remains important.
Updated 24 August 2026, 18:00 CEST — . confirmed that about 60 drivers who followed an official diversion during a fire on on Saturday 25 July were wrongly fined and will not have to pay, according to . Any motorists who have already paid will receive an automatic refund.
Emergency services responded at about 20:00 to a fire at the rear of a townhouse near Brusselpoort, reported. Police temporarily closed so firefighters could work and directed motorists towards a service road. That route took the vehicles past a camera-enforced traffic restriction.
The same publisher reported separately that the fire affected a building divided into three flats. Two flats were declared uninhabitable, while no injuries were reported. Police said at the time that the fire appeared accidental, although an investigation still had to confirm the cause.
spokesperson Dirk Van de Sande attributed the fines to a break between the operational handling of the diversion and the subsequent administrative process. The police said the resulting reports will be dismissed. will also write to every affected driver, while those who paid will have the money returned without submitting a request.
The error matters directly because the drivers were acting on police instructions during an emergency. The announced cancellation removes the financial consequence, but recipients still need clear written confirmation that their individual files have been closed.
The incident also exposes a practical weakness in camera-based enforcement: temporary decisions made by officers on the street must reach the administrative system before notices are generated. A published council response describes a multi-stage process in which police files are transferred to , checked in administrative software and converted into letters for motorists. Mechelen has previously disabled enforcement cameras when roadworks required traffic to use a normally restricted route, according to another official council response.
There is no wider Belgian or European policy dispute at the centre of this case. It is a local administrative failure in , followed by a corrective decision. Affected motorists should retain the fine and the promised cancellation letter until the case is formally settled. The authorities have not said publicly whether procedures will change to prevent another emergency diversion from triggering automatic fines.
Impact
Regional — The impact is confined primarily to roughly 60 motorists routed through the restricted point in Mechelen and to the local police and administrative services correcting their files.
Local — The direct impact is concentrated in Mechelen, particularly around Koningin Astridlaan and the camera-controlled restriction used during the fire diversion. About 60 motorists must have their sanction files corrected, creating follow-up work for Police Rivierenland and GAS Rivierenland. The city says affected reports will be dismissed, paid fines refunded automatically and confirmation letters sent. Other local drivers are not identified as affected by this specific incident.
What it means for you
If you received a fine after following the police diversion in Mechelen on Saturday 25 July, you should not have to pay it: the report is due to be dismissed. If you already paid, the amount should be refunded automatically, without a separate repayment request. Watch for a letter from GAS Rivierenland confirming that your file has been corrected, and keep the fine notice and payment record until the refund and written confirmation arrive. The article does not provide a deadline for the letters or repayments.
Opposing perspectives
- Police Rivierenland and GAS Rivierenland
The authorities acknowledge that the fines resulted from a failure between the on-street emergency operation and the later administrative handling. Their remedy is to dismiss every affected report, refund payments automatically and notify the motorists in writing.
- Affected motorists
The drivers were following police directions rather than choosing to disregard the restriction. Their practical interest is therefore not an ordinary appeal against enforcement, but prompt confirmation that each notice has been cancelled and any payment has been returned.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
City cancelling the wrongly issued traffic fines.
Mechelen street closed during the fire that prompted the police diversion.
News outlet reporting on the wrongful fines and the fire.
Emergency incident on Saturday 25 July that led motorists through a camera-enforced restriction.
Municipal authority responsible for the local enforcement context and published council responses on fine processing and diversions.
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City cancelling the wrongly issued traffic fines.
Mechelen street closed during the fire that prompted the police diversion.
Emergency incident on Saturday 25 July that led motorists through a camera-enforced restriction.
News outlet reporting on the wrongful fines and the fire.
Municipal authority responsible for the local enforcement context and published council responses on fine processing and diversions.
Local police service that managed the emergency diversion and confirmed that about 60 motorists were fined.
Administrative-sanctions service responsible for correcting the affected files and sending letters.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceHet Nieuwsblad — wrongful fines after fire diversionPrimaryprimary· nieuwsblad.beRetrieved 24 August 2026
- View sourceHet Nieuwsblad — fire in Koningin Astridlaan townhousecorroborating· nieuwsblad.be· 25 July 2026Retrieved 24 August 2026· 69 days ago· Dated
- View sourceCity of Mechelen — council response on traffic-fine processingofficial· mechelen.beRetrieved 24 August 2026
- View sourceCity of Mechelen — council response on cameras and diversionsofficial· mechelen.be· 5 April 2025Retrieved 24 August 2026· 545 days ago· Dated
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