E-Step Rider Dies, Pedestrian Critical in Antwerp Collision
A 47-year-old man riding an electric step has died after colliding with a 30-year-old pedestrian in Antwerp city center early Saturday morning, in an incident that has intensified calls for stricter regulation of e-steps in Belgium. The pedestrian remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The collision occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning on the Lange Koepoortstraat, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. Emergency services dispatched two Mobile Urgency Group (MUG) medical teams to the scene. The 47-year-old e-step rider was resuscitated at the scene and again upon arrival at the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries later Saturday morning.
Investigation Underway
Antwerp police spokesperson Wouter Bruyns confirmed that investigators are reviewing CCTV footage and witness statements to reconstruct the sequence of events. “According to our initial findings, the man who died collided with his step into the second victim, who was on foot,” Bruyns told VRT NWS. “Based on camera images and witness statements, we are trying to reconstruct what went wrong.”
Renewed Calls for Action
The fatal incident comes just three days after emergency physicians at ZAS Antwerp publicly called for a night ban on rental e-steps, citing alarming increases in accident numbers. Dr. Brecht De Tavernier, an emergency physician at ZAS, told Het Laatste Nieuws that the hospital now treats five e-step patients per day—a 60 percent increase in just three to four years.
“Year after year, e-steps drive more patients to the ER. There has been enough debate now; the government must take measures to protect steppers from themselves,” De Tavernier said.
Dr. Kurt Anseeuw, also of ZAS Antwerp, noted that nighttime accidents result in significantly more severe injuries. “We established that e-steps are more dangerous than other modes of transport. We also see that the injuries victims sustain at night are more serious than during the day,” Anseeuw told VRT NWS. He suggested that factors such as inexperience, distraction, higher speeds due to lighter traffic, and possible alcohol use may contribute to the severity of nighttime incidents.
Rising Accident Numbers
Belgium has seen a steady increase in e-step accidents. In 2024, police registered 1,745 e-step accidents nationwide—a 9 percent increase from 2023, according to the Vias Institute, as reported by VRT NWS. In Flanders alone, there were 937 accidents involving e-steps, including three fatalities. The actual number is believed to be higher, as many single-party accidents go unreported to police.
The Helsinki Model
Emergency physicians point to Helsinki as a successful example of regulation. In September 2021, the Finnish capital introduced a night ban on rental e-steps between midnight and 5 AM on weekends, along with speed limits and helmet requirements. The result was an 89 percent reduction in patients with severe facial fractures.
Despite existing regulations introduced in Belgium in July 2022—including a maximum speed of 25 km/h, a ban on sidewalk riding, a minimum age of 16, and a prohibition on carrying passengers—enforcement remains weak and violations are common. There is currently no helmet requirement for e-step riders in Belgium.
What’s Next
The fatal collision in Antwerp has reignited the debate over e-step safety just as medical professionals are intensifying their calls for action. The police investigation is ongoing, and questions remain about whether alcohol played a role in the incident and whether the e-step involved was a rental or privately owned. As policymakers weigh potential measures, the question now is whether this tragedy will finally spur concrete regulatory change in Belgium.