Tom Waes thinks he received a “fair punishment” for driving under the influence. The presenter responded in the TV program De Afspraak to the punishment the judge imposed on him.
Waes was earlier in the day sentenced to a three-month driving ban, an alcohol interlock device, and a fine. He also has to retake his driving test. “I feel small and ashamed. I’m normally here in a different way,” said the 56-year-old Waes at the beginning of the broadcast.
When asked if his punishment was fair, Waes said, “I think so.” The presenter would have accepted any punishment. “I made a very serious mistake and there is no excuse for it.”
The presenter couldn’t say why he decided to get behind the wheel with so much alcohol in his system. He said he didn’t remember anything from that evening in November. Waes did admit that it has happened more often that he has driven with one drink too many. “But it wasn’t like this time.”
Waes further said that he has not drunk “a drop” since the accident. “I don’t feel the need to at the moment, but I don’t want to be pinned down to never drinking again.”
The presenter crashed into an arrow truck near the Kennedytunnel in Antwerp on the night of November 29 to 30, 2024. He suffered a severe head wound, broken ribs, and a broken hip in the accident. The driver of the arrow truck was slightly injured. Waes had 2.44 per mille of alcohol in his blood during the accident, where 0.5 per mille is allowed. He also wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.