What Belgium’s new e-scooter law means for your ride
Starting September 1, wearing a helmet will be compulsory on all e-scooters capable of traveling faster than 20 kilometers per hour, Belgium’s Ministry of Mobility announced on Friday, Qazinform News Agency reports.
According to Belga News Agency, the new royal decree says that mandate hinges strictly on the vehicle’s manufacturing specifications rather than its real-time operating speed. Riders must wear either a moped helmet or a bicycle helmet designed to protect the temples and the back of the head.
The safety measure aims to curb severe head and brain injuries, which international accident statistics show rise dramatically at higher speeds. However, to avoid discouraging commuters from shifting away from cars, lower-speed scooters are exempt.
Because Belgian law caps all public e-scooter speeds at 25 km/h, the new rule primarily impacts personal vehicles engineered to travel between 20 and 25 km/h. Rental and shared e-scooter fleets will bypass the mandate, as operators generally restrict their maximum speeds to 20 km/h within their municipal operating permits.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a Kazakh kick-sharing company was planning to expand its fleet of e-scooters in Brazilian cities up to 200,000 units.