⚠️ Flashed but it wasn’t you? Beware of license plate “cloning”! My testimony as a lawyer specialized in traffic law in Sud Presse.

On May 6, 2025, Sud Presse published an article about a growing and alarming phenomenon in Belgium: the cloning of license plates, also known as “doublettes”.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed for the article in my capacity as a lawyer specialized in road traffic law. Here is a practical summary and some advice for you.

👉 Link to the full article (subscriber access only):
Vous avez été flashé mais ce n’était pas vous ? Gare au phénomène de « la doublette », contester le p.-v. ne suffit pas !

🚘 What is a “doublette”?

Fraudsters duplicate an existing license plate and pair it with a similar make and model of vehicle.
Their goal? To avoid fines or commit offences anonymously.

➡ The result: you receive traffic tickets (so-called p.-v. in Belgium) for offences you never committed—sometimes in places hundreds of kilometres from where you actually were.

⚖️ A real case from one of my clients

A 72-year-old client from Brussels received about ten speeding tickets, including one for driving at 170 km/h in Leuven—yet he had never even been there.
He first tried to contest the tickets himself, but without success.

That’s when he contacted me. We investigated every single offence and built a case for each. We gathered solid evidence proving he couldn’t have been present: medical appointments, work documents, witness statements…

But most importantly, I advised him to file a police report for license plate fraud, a step that’s often overlooked.

🔚 In the end, he was acquitted in all jurisdictions. Without legal assistance, he most likely would have had to pay.

📌 What should you do if this happens to you?

• Don’t ignore it: every unchallenged fine can be treated as an implicit admission.

• Gather proof of your whereabouts for each contested offence.

• File a complaint for license plate fraud at your local police station.

• Consult a lawyer experienced in road traffic law who can help demonstrate your innocence and protect your rights.

🧠 Final thoughts

This issue is becoming more and more common. In 2023 alone, 518 cases of license plate forgery were recorded in Belgium.
Now imagine being wrongly accused of a serious accident, just because someone cloned your plate… Swift and methodical action is key.

💼 Need help? I regularly handle these types of cases across Belgium. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.