The number of accidents involving e-scooters has exploded in recent years. To gain insight into the exact causes, the Vias traffic safety institute analyzed a hundred e-scooter accidents with injured people in Brussels in 2020. Most occurred with users under the influence of alcohol and drugs, causing them to lose control.

Vias pleads for the mandatory wearing of a helmet for e-scooters users to reduce serious head injuries. International research has shown that one-third of e-scooter users sustained head injuries while only 4% wore helmets during the accident.

Four times more accidents

E-scooter use increased spectacularly in recent years. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of kilometers covered by (shared or owned) e-scooters tripled from 0,47 million km to 1,49 million km.

So, the number of e-scooters accidents with injuries in the same period more than quadrupled: from 409 in 2020 to 1 748 in 2022. In 2021 and 2022, four people died using an e-scooter. Most e-scooters accidents occurred on crossings (29%).

Single-vehicle crashes occur in 23%. These accidents – without a counterparty – often are due to external causes (10%), such as the small wheels getting stuck in a sewer drain or a hole in the road surface.

Drinking and drugs

Most accidents are related to partying and substance abuse: people often ride under the influence of alcohol and drugs, causing them to lose control. And some e-step users are hit on a crosswalk, often users who cross the street at too high a speed, surprising motorists.

Finally, 9% of collisions between vulnerable road users – cyclists and pedestrians – and e-steppers are victims of swinging car doors (4%) and departing parked cars (6%). Last year, on July 1st, some rules for users of e-scooters changed: users have to be 16 and are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk or transport passengers.