Belgium for Italian Drivers — Priority-to-the-Right & Trilingual Signs

Italians arrive in Belgium with most of the basics already covered — same EU licence, right-hand traffic, identical 0.05 alcohol limit. No side switch, no permit hassle. What actually changes is subtler, and it’s the kind of thing that earns a fine before you’ve noticed the rule.

Priority to the right is stricter than at home

Belgium leans hard on priorité à droite. At any junction without a marking that says otherwise, a vehicle coming from a road on your right has priority — even when you’re plainly on the busier road. Belgian drivers pull out expecting you to yield, which feels alien if you’re used to Italian junctions where the main road usually wins. Look for the yellow priority diamond; where it’s absent, give way to your right. The Brussels ring (R0) is where this bites — fast, dense merging traffic with little patience.

The signs change language as you drive

There is no single “Belgian” language on the road. In Flanders signs are Dutch, in Wallonia French, around Eupen German, and Brussels is bilingual. A motorway exit reads Bergen in one direction and Mons in the other — same town. Programme destinations by both names where you can, because the road network won’t translate for you.

Speeds drop, and cameras don’t miss

Motorways are 120 km/h (down from Italy’s 130), rural 70–90, town 50, and central Brussels is 30. Average-speed enforcement covers long motorway stretches, so a brief burst still gets logged; 10 km/h over is about EUR 53 — run the numbers on the Speeding Fine Calculator. No IDP is needed (confirm via the Driving Permit Checker), the car must carry a triangle, vest, first-aid kit and extinguisher, petrol is roughly EUR 1.90/litre, and emergency is 112. Full detail sits on our Belgium driving guide.