Do you know when the 120 on the motorway dates back to Belgium?
The speed limit on the motorway is the consequence of two independent causes, but concomitant in the calendar: the oil crisis and catastrophic road fatalities. In 1972, there were more than 18,000 road deaths in France and more than 3,000 in Belgium. And most countries recognize the same scourge. At the same time, the first oil shock broke out in 1973. In the spring, OPEC set up mechanisms to raise the price of oil after the sharp drop in the dollar in March 1973. In addition, American authorities raised the specter of the reduction of oil reserves on their territory and therefore a drop in production causing tensions on the market.
The war
For the oil crisis, the main trigger, which will quadruple the price of a barrel, is the Yom Kippur War with the attack on Israel on October 6, 1973 by a coalition led by Egypt and Syria. To help the Jewish state, the United States will support it with a great deal of arms. In retaliation, the Arab countries of OPEC increase the price of oil and decree an embargo against the United States and the Netherlands openly supporting Israel. Consequently, between October 1973 and March 1974, the price of a barrel will be multiplied by 4: going from $2.59 to $11.65. There were even $18 photos!
reactions
In Europe, this rise in the price of gasoline is plunging many households into crisis. The authorities decide to react. Because even after the silence of arms in Israel on October 24, tension remains high on oil. The measures in Belgium are as follows (does this remind you of anything?):
- Speed limit of 100 km/h on motorways and 80 km/h on national roads (already limited to 90 km/h since July 1, 1971).
- Introduction of car-free Sundays from November 18, 1973 until the end of the year celebrations (for the happiness of many riders sometimes abandoned their horse in front of the café) to be then abandoned in 1974.
- Extinguishing public lights.
- Heating limited to 20°C in offices, 18°C in schools and 15°C in sports halls.
- Requisition of the oil sector to avoid strikes.
In the Netherlands, even more strongly affected by the embargo, the government also introduces car-free Sundays, imposes a rationing of 15 liters per car per week and decides to invest in infrastructure to facilitate bicycle travel. .
End of 100 km/h
The “provisional” 100 km/h measure on the motorway, following the oil crisis, was lifted on February 28, 1974. However, the authorities quickly responded to another scourge: road deaths. The beginning of the decade of the Seventies is a real road carnage. Different countries are beginning to introduce generalized limitations on the motorway. In December 1973, France imposed the 120 km/h speed on the motorway. In March 1974, this speed increased to 140 km/h before being reduced to 130 km/h in November 1974. Limitation still in force today with our neighbors across Quiévrain.
Appearance of 120 km/h
And in Belgium? A new Highway Code is in preparation. It will be completed on December 1, 1975, in the form of a royal decree. It is still in force today, with many amendments since. This royal decree will thus seal the 120 km/h on the motorway. But this speed had been imposed as of May 21, 1974. It should be noted that to reduce mortality, two other important measures date from this period: the wearing of seat belts (only at the front to begin with) and the repression against drunk driving: blood alcohol level at 0.8 g/l of blood in 1975 with measurement possible via the breath (0.35 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air) against 1.5 g/l of blood in the past (only by blood money making controls almost impossible).
B/W photo: Mazamet dead town (May 17, 1973): photo André Cros, municipal archives of Toulouse – CC BY-SA 4.0 license