Since march 2007, electric wheel chares are officially allowed on the public road. Because of this admission, the electric wheel chares are now motorized vehicles and these vehicles need a “green pass” to ride on the streets. So they also need a car insurance!
The government forgot to adjust the law and most of the users of electric wheel chares do not know this. So when they bump up against someone, they are in trouble. They won’t enjoy their family insurance when they were riding faster then 15km/h. When they were riding slower than 15km/h they will still get a compensation but the driver stays suable.
The traders of electric wheel chares recommend their costumers to ask for a “green pass” but most of the drivers don’t know if they already have one or that it is needed. The insurers give a discount on the car insurances for electric wheel chares but it still stays an extra cost for the drivers.
The people with an electric wheel chare can avoid the problems by driving very slow on the sidewalk. But when the sidewalk isn’t driveable they are forced to drive on the cycle path. How many electric wheel chares there are driving on public roads isn’t known. But the “RIVIZ” pays back every year 1,000 till 1,500 examples. But there are still a lot of examples available without refund.
In my opinion it is ridiculous! These wheel chares can never damage what a car can! They drive that fast as a bicycle. They are just a little bit heavier ! But will never kill someone! The people that are using a wheel chare are most of the time sick people and they already have a lot of costs. Now they also have to pay for an extra insurance. Belgium is and stay a strange country on legislation!
De Ridder Steffie
Disabled and older people are nowadays still mobile. They have electric wheelchairs with which they are allowed to drive on the streets. This is very good, because people can keep their independence if their husband or wife already passed away. They don’t get the feeling they’re left alone and they don’t have to call for help anytime they need something.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIf you want to drive on public roads, you need a document, a green pass. But many people have no idea that this is obliged. They use the public roads without the document, but the one fact they forget is that they’re not insured if something happens to them. If their speed is higher than 15 km/h, they can’t use their family assurance. If their speed isn’t higher than 15 km/h, they will still get a compensation, but the driver will still be responsible and indictable. Every single driver who uses the public roads has to be insured and has to be the proper documents.
Personally, I think that the traders of electric wheelchairs really need to inform the buyers properly. It’s also part of their responsibility if the drivers don’t have the right documents to drive the roads. Often, it happens that older people have no idea of which obligation they have. Also the government has to make sure that they have a leaflet on which the necessary information is mentioned.
Nathalie COUDEVILLE
In my opinion I think it’s absurd that people in electric wheelchairs have to pay a car- insurance.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAt first I think that people who drive with an electric wheelchair can’t cause much accidents because the wheelchair doesn’t go very fast which means that when an accident happens the damage isn’t very big.
Secondly I think that people who drive those things should be more informed. If they don’t know they have to pay for insurance, and an accident happens with damage, they will have to pay personally. I don’t think that’s fair!
And at last to avoid problems the drivers of electric wheelchairs should ride on the sidewalk, but the big problem is that not every road in Belgium has a proper sidewalk! So I think that maybe the government should review the law about electric wheelchairs.
Ruth Blommaert