Patricia was violently hit by a scooter as she crossed a pedestrian crossing at the Belgica metro exit, in the municipality of Jette in the Brussels region.
The facts date back to June 22. “It was 5:15 p.m. when I left the metro and crossed the street to go home. I looked carefully left and right to make sure no vehicles were coming. There were several of us engage on the zebra crossing when suddenly, a scooter hit me on the left side, she remembers. I did a glide and was thrown to the ground. My first instinct was to sit down, but I was in so much pain that I stayed in bed. I cried out in pain and a crowd of people gathered around me to provide first aid. The young woman who was on the scooter also stopped, visibly shocked by the situation. She must have been in her early thirties.“
Patricia stayed in bed until the ambulance arrived. “I was taken to the emergency room of the Brugmann-Horta hospital where I stayed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. before being able to go to my room. I was told that I had a fractured hip. I was I was operated on June 24 and had a hip prosthesis placed in. I was transferred to the military hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek last week and I have to stay there for several weeks as part of my rehabilitationshe continues. I hope that the after-effects will not be too serious and that I will not have a mobility problem.”
A trained therapist, Patricia had several personal development courses through painting and writing to run this summer, but everything fell through. Today, she wants to warn against the dangers of the scooter. “I was careful to look on both sides of the street before crossing, but she came very quickly, while many of us were crossing at the same time.”
Electric scooter accidents mainly affect the Brussels region. In Brussels, there is on average one admission to the emergency room per week, but in certain busier areas, this can go up to two to three cases per week, according to a recent study by Vias, the Belgian institute for road safety. Accidents mainly take place during the day in areas with high traffic density, where different types of users mix and on the roadway. The survey also highlights that most accidents involve an occasional or novice driver. The most affected age group is 20-40 years old.
Remember that since July 1, electric scooters are prohibited for minors under the age of 16. Additional measures have been taken in Brussels, such as driving at a maximum of 8 km/h on the pedestrian zone in the city center and on the semi-pedestrian zone on the Chaussée d’Ixelles. It remains to be seen whether these measures will be respected.