As e-steps are conquering Brussels, a campaign is started to issue a warning and set some clear rules

Lime, one of the providers of electric steps in the capital, organised an event together with the Belgian institute for road safety, Vias Institute, to raise awareness among the users and stimulate responsible behaviour. 

First of all, since users are standing upright, they risk a bigger impact if an accident happens. "We advise users to wear a helmet", says Stef Willems of Vias. "The impact can be considerable even at low speed, but we see that the maximum speed for e-steps has been lifted from 18 to 25 kilometres per hour." Lime distributed free packages on Saturday, including 750 free helmets (see pictures).   

Second, e-step users should follow the same rules as cyclists, except when they are going at very slow speed, like pedestrians. Only in the latter case it is allowed to use the side walk. In other cases, they need to stick to the cycle lanes. It is also asked not to leave the e-steps behind in the middle of the pavement, since it will hinder pedestrians, especially the handicapped and the blind. 

Lime is a big player with over 125,000 users. A poll among these has revealed that 35 percent are using the car less often, and that - in this case - they leave the car at home in 1 in 4 cases.