Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Mechelen police, led by Dirk Van de Sande, launched a 2025 crackdown on tuned e-scooters, fat bikes, and mopeds. Mayor Bart Somers supports inspections to curb reckless driving and improve street safety.
As VRT News reported, in Mechelen, police have launched a major operation against tuned electric scooters, fat bikes, and mopeds. Authorities say these vehicles are often modified to exceed legal speed limits.
Dirk Van de Sande, spokesperson for the Rivierenland police zone, said,
“These vehicles are being tuned the most. This is not only illegal but very dangerous.”
Officers are checking the vehicles carefully and observing how drivers behave on the streets. Police have received many complaints about reckless and dangerous driving.
“We are going to tackle the show-offs in traffic”
Mayor Bart Somers (For Mechelen)
What are Mechelen police and Mayor Bart Somers doing about tuned e-scooters?
Mayor Bart Somers said the focus will be on stopping antisocial and unsafe driving.
“We will pay close attention to cyclists in pedestrian zones and people showing off on scooters, fat bikes, or in cars,”
he said. The police are combining vehicle inspections with monitoring driver behaviour.
Speed checks on electric scooters and fat bikes in Mechelen were carried out using a Dutch roller dynamometer. Belgium does not yet have a roller dynamometer capable of measuring these vehicles accurately. Authorities rely on the Dutch model because conventional Belgian equipment cannot capture the true performance of tuned e-scooters and fat bikes.
The Dutch dynamometer is not officially approved in Belgium, so fines cannot be issued based on its measurements. If a vehicle is heavily tuned, it must be retested on the less precise Belgian dynamometer before any penalty can be applied. Authorities are working toward approval of a more accurate dynamometer in Belgium.
Concerns about tuned e-scooters, fat bikes, and mopeds in Belgium have been rising since 2020, as these vehicles became more popular in urban areas. In 2021, local police in several cities, including Antwerp and Ghent, began receiving increasing complaints about dangerous driving and reckless behaviour. By 2022, authorities started using roller dynamometers in the Netherlands to test vehicle speeds more accurately, as Belgian equipment was not precise enough.
