Three years after the introduction of stricter rules for e-scooters, many Belgians still do not know the most important rules. This emerges from a new representative survey by the traffic institute Vias.
For example, 44% of those surveyed do not know that you must be at least 16 years old to drive an e-scooter. The number of serious accidents involving e-scooters also rose sharply in 2024, up to five a day.
Most accidents in Flanders
E-scooter users also appear to be unaware of other rules. For example, 35% ignore that riding with two people on an e-scooter is forbidden. However, this often happens, especially with shared e-scooters. “Riding an e-scooter correctly with two people is impossible. Moreover, e-scooters are difficult to handle due to their small wheels,” Vias warns.
In 2024, 1,825 accidents involving an e-scooter were recorded in Belgium. That’s an average of five accidents per day, up 13% from 2023. Vias also suspects that this figure underestimates the actual number of incidents.
A few years ago, accidents involving e-scooters occurred almost exclusively in Brussels, but most currently occur in Flanders. There, accidents have increased by 10% compared to 2023 (from 851 to 937). Three people were also killed in traffic while using an e-scooter.
Up to 100 kph
That’s why the local and federal police are organizing an awareness campaign aimed at weak road users on two wheels until Friday. During the action days, the federal road police check whether motorcyclists are wearing the mandatory protective clothing. The local police, in turn, check if e-scooters are not ‘tuned’ and bicycles have the mandatory equipment.
In March, the local police of the ViMa (Vilvoorde/Machelen) zone, east of Brussels, confiscated 52 e-scooters during a check event in Vilvoorde. 27 e-scooters were taken into custody because the drivers were less than 16 years old, and 25 others were permanently confiscated because they traveled faster than 25 kph. In some cases, the e-scooters could reach speeds of up to 100 kph. The youngest driver was 14 years old and reached speeds of 70 kph on his e-scooter.
