Archive image. — © Harold Versteeg | Hollandse Hoogte / ANP
Bart De Wever (N-VA) calls for stricter rules for electric scooters because the number of accidents in Antwerp continues to rise. But scooters are also driving around in Limburg that travel much faster than the permitted 25 km/hour.
In just one year, the Antwerp police issued 2,000 citations for dangerous driving with electric scooters. The number of people injured in accidents involving scooters increased by 700 percent in the city in three years. According to Antwerp mayor and N-VA chairman Bart De Wever, the main problem with private e-scooters is speeding. “For example, last year our neighborhood team confiscated an e-scooter that reached a speed of 95 km/hour,” he said in our sister newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen.
READ ALSO. E-scooter drives at 50 km/h through Leopoldsburg: police officers and confiscation
There are far fewer electric scooters in Limburg. Although the police here occasionally catch scooters driving too fast. “In 2021 we counted one speeding violation with a scooter, this year there are four,” says Fébe Coenen of the LRH police. “Last year we saw one scooter that reached a speed of 50 km/h.” This summer, the local police also reported a stepper driving 50 km/h in Leopoldsburg. That is twice as much as the permitted maximum speed of 25 km/h for e-scooters.
The Carma police have not yet seized any e-scooters. “In our police zone we also see far fewer e-scooters in the street scene than in a big city like Antwerp. If we detect violations, such as two people on one scooter or a driver under the age of 16, we will issue a report.”
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