Belgium has introduced a mandatory helmet requirement for users of electric scooters with a speed exceeding 20 kilometers per hour.
“Elchi” reports that the new rule, aimed at increasing safety in the use of electric scooters in Belgium, came into effect on September 1st.
According to the rule, it is mandatory for users of electric scooters capable of speeds exceeding 20 kilometers per hour to wear a helmet.
The helmet requirement will consider the maximum speed the scooter can reach by design, not the speed at which it is actually traveling. Thus, even if scooters capable of reaching speeds over 20 kilometers per hour are used at lower speeds, wearing a helmet will be required.
Users can wear moped or bicycle helmets.
Electric scooters with a speed of 20 kilometers per hour or less will be exempt from the helmet requirement.
Those who do not comply with the new helmet requirement will be punished with a 64 euro fine, as well as a 10.67 euro administrative fee.
In Brussels, the speed of electric scooters is limited to 20 kilometers per hour, meaning shared electric scooters that cannot exceed this speed will be exempt from the helmet requirement. With this new rule, Belgium joins Denmark, Italy, and Croatia, which are European countries with similar helmet requirements for electric scooter users. In Belgium, the use of electric scooters at speeds exceeding 25 kilometers per hour on public roads was already prohibited. With the increase in the use of electric scooters in the country, there has also been an increase in the number of accidents involving these vehicles. Last year, approximately 2,500 people were injured in accidents involving electric scooters in Belgium.
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