The outpouring of joy was enormous. Many supporters took to the streets dancing and cheering. Several vehicles, decorated with flags and other gadgets, drove along Koolmijnlaan and sounded their horns loudly several times. The police tried to manage this, but ultimately they had to intervene by temporarily closing Koolmijnlaan, among other things. The situation was too dangerous. “For fear of accidents, we temporarily diverted traffic, but after fifteen minutes traffic was able to move on again. By 12:15 am the situation had normalized and we were gradually able to leave the place,” the police said.
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Alone in the car
During the celebrations, several violations were noted by the police teams. A driver with a provisional license was fined for sitting alone in the car while an attendant is required. The car was immobilized and his provisional driver’s license was immediately revoked. There were also citations for irresponsible driving or the use of mobile phones behind the wheel. Someone else was in possession of drugs and two underage moped riders who did not respect the rules also had the flags.
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Additional staff
In the caravan of vehicles that was created, several violations of irresponsible driving behavior were noted, ranging from hanging flags from the vehicle, excessive honking and, among other things, filming while driving in the convoy. 54 drivers were fined for honking while this is prohibited, 14 drivers were fined for filming themselves, the people of three vehicles were fined because passengers were hanging out of the vehicle with large flags, hindering normal traffic and endangering others. and “in the commotion we also arrested someone administratively because he did not want to leave the road after several warnings,” concludes the Heusden-Zolder police.
The number of fines in Heusden-Zolder is noticeably higher than in other places where supporters celebrated the victory. In Genk, the police let Carma fans do their thing for an hour. The Europalaan was temporarily closed off and around midnight it was enough. “Most of them behaved as they should. Those who continued anyway were given a fine for honking, not wearing a seat belt or setting off fireworks,” according to Carma, where they handed out ten fines.
The Heusden-Zolder police do have an explanation for that difference. “The Koolmijnlaan is apparently very popular and it is happening more and more frequently,” says Chief of Police Kris Janssen. “Whether it is elections, top players in Turkish football or the European Championship, we have noticed for a long time that at such moments they come here from everywhere to support or celebrate and that causes inconvenience and risks. Those reported include people from throughout the province and people from outside Limburg.”
At peak times, 500 to 600 people are on the streets. “There is nothing wrong with celebrations, but the crowd is spread out over a few hundred metres and they endanger other road users. We can close the street for a while, but after a while it is enough. When people continue anyway, we have to intervene,” Janssen explains. For those who received a fine, the consequences could have been even greater. The drivers who were busy with their mobile phones while driving could have lost their driving licence for eight days. “But our people are pretty much powerless at such times. With ten to twelve people, we have to keep everything running smoothly. We see those drivers, but we cannot intercept them in that crowd. We determine the violation based on the number plates and draw up the report afterwards. It is impossible to act immediately when fifty or sixty cars are passing by,” says police chief Kris Janssen.
The Heusdense police are already continuing the fight. The police will again deploy additional personnel at the next football matches.
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