Pedestrians, cyclists and e-bikes: your rights after an accident

In short

In a road accident involving a motor vehicle, everyone who was not driving (pedestrian, cyclist, passenger) is compensated for bodily injury regardless of their own fault (Motor Insurance Act 1989, art. 29bis). A cyclist who ran a red light is included.

Property damage such as your bike or phone, and damage you cause to others through your fault (such as damage to the car), fall outside 29bis. Ordinary liability rules apply; your family liability insurance (RC familiale) may pay the other party’s loss.

An e-bike that only assists when you pedal is not a motor vehicle (CJEU C-286/22; Cass. 20.9.2024). No compulsory motor insurance is needed, and its rider is a protected road user.

Bikes that move under their own power without pedalling (throttle bikes) are motor vehicles. Since 12.4.2024 they are exempt from insurance only if they do at most 25 km/h and weigh at most 25 kg, battery included.

A speed pedelec is not a motor vehicle either if it has no mode that moves it without pedalling: no compulsory motor insurance is needed, family insurance is enough and its rider is protected by 29bis (Cass. 20.9.2024; Vias 2025).

The only exception: a person over 14 who wanted the accident and its consequences cannot rely on 29bis. Gross carelessness is not enough for this.

“I went through a red light, it’s my fault, I get nothing.” “I hit a pedestrian on my e-bike and my insurer says it’s a motor vehicle.” This guide deals with both questions together: who pays for your own bodily injury, and who pays for the damage you cause to others. The answer depends mainly on two things: was a motor vehicle involved, and were you driving it?

What does the 29bis rule say?

In a road accident involving one or more motor vehicles, all damage resulting from bodily injury or death is paid jointly and severally (solidairement) by the insurers of the vehicles involved (1989 Act, art. 29bis §1). The only things left out are:

property damage (vehicle, bicycle, belongings),
damage suffered by the drivers of the motor vehicles involved.

The rule applies regardless of fault. A drunk pedestrian, a passenger without a seatbelt or a careless cyclist is still compensated for bodily injury; ordinary negligence is not intent. Even when the accident results from a fortuitous event (cas fortuit), the insurer must pay (art. 29bis §1, para. 4).

For accidents after 12.4.2024, automatic compensation is limited to accidents on public roads, places open to the public and private places open to a certain number of people (art. 29bis §1, through its reference to art. 2 §1, para. 1).

What does “involved” mean?

According to the Court of Cassation, a vehicle is involved if it played any role in the accident; no causal link between the vehicle and the accident is required (Cass. 13.6.2014, C.13.0184.F). In that case, a pedestrian hit by a car was thrown against another car that was lawfully parked; the parked car’s insurer was also held jointly liable.

The Court of Cassation confirmed this test again in 2026: a vehicle is involved if it had any influence on the accident, even without being a necessary element of it. The same judgment states that the share for which the victim is personally liable under ordinary law is divided equally among the insurers of all the vehicles involved (Cass. 30.4.2026, C.24.0501.N). On the other hand, the mere presence of a vehicle is not enough; it must have played a role in the accident (Cass. 12.9.2014, C.13.0567.N). In practice: if several vehicles were involved, send your claim to all of their insurers.

Who is protected?

Person	29bis protection for bodily injury
Pedestrian (including wheelchair users)	Yes
Ordinary cyclist	Yes
E-bike that only assists pedalling	Yes (CJEU C-286/22; Cass. 20.9.2024)
E-scooter user (≤25 km/h and ≤25 kg)	Yes, if hit by a motor vehicle
Passenger in a motor vehicle	Yes, even against their own driver
Speed pedelec rider (assistance up to 45 km/h)	Yes, if it has no mode that moves it without pedalling (Cass. 20.9.2024); no if it does
Bike that moves without pedalling, if subject to insurance	No (counts as a motor vehicle driver)
Driver of a car, motorcycle or moped	No

Note: small vehicles exempt from compulsory insurance (such as e-scooters ≤25 km/h and ≤25 kg) do not count as “motor vehicles” for 29bis. Their users are protected, but a collision with such a vehicle does not trigger 29bis (art. 29bis §3).

The only exception: wanting the accident and its consequences

A victim over 14 who wanted the accident and its consequences cannot rely on 29bis (art. 29bis §1, para. 6). The Court of Cassation reads this exception very narrowly: the victim must have wanted not just the accident but the damage itself; dangerous or grossly careless behaviour is not enough on its own (Cass. 8.1.2026, C.24.0313.N; 23.1.2026, C.25.0068.F). In the second case, a pedestrian ran out from in front of a van stopped on the hard shoulder of a motorway and was killed by a lorry; even there, the Court required a finding that the damage itself was wanted. In an older case, even under the then “inexcusable fault” (faute inexcusable) test, a pedestrian who carelessly ran into the road while chasing a thief was held to be protected (Cass. 3.5.2001, C.99.0152.F). For children aged 14 or under, the exception never applies.

Examples of the broad scope of 29bis

The examples below were decided under the text in force before the 2024 amendment. For accidents after 12.4.2024, whether the accident happened on a public road or in a place open to the public must be checked separately.

Trams and trains: 29bis also applies when a tram or train hits a pedestrian or cyclist away from a crossing, on its own track (Antwerp Court of Appeal, 7.11.2007, 2006/AR/2942).
Motorsport spectators: for a spectator injured at a racing venue open to the public for a ticket, the venue was treated as a “place open to a certain number of people” and 29bis was applied (Antwerp Court of First Instance, 15.9.2009; a single first-instance ruling).

What is paid?

all heads of bodily injury: medical costs, loss of income, temporary and permanent incapacity, non-material damage,
in case of death, the damage suffered by relatives,
damage to clothing,
damage to functional prostheses (treated as bodily injury; art. 29bis §1, para. 3).

For the heads of damage and amounts, see our guide on injury compensation.

I cycled through a red light, hit a car and was injured: can I get compensation?

Yes, most likely. Because a car was involved and you were not its driver, your bodily injury is paid under 29bis by the car’s compulsory motor insurer (RC auto). Running the red light is your fault, but 29bis does not look at fault; gross carelessness is not “wanting the accident and its consequences” either.

Depending on the situation:

If you were on an ordinary bike or a pedal-assist e-bike, you are a protected road user. The car’s insurer pays your medical costs, loss of income, incapacity, non-material damage and damage to your clothing.
If you were riding a vehicle that moves under its own power without pedalling and is subject to insurance (for example a throttle bike over 25 kg), you may count as a motor vehicle driver. Then 29bis does not protect you; you are compensated only if you prove the car driver’s fault or have driver’s insurance.
If the accident happened on a closed private site (accidents after 12.4.2024), 29bis may not apply.
If the junction has a B22 or B23 sign, a cyclist may turn right (B22) or go straight on (B23) at a red light, provided they give way to other users (Highway Code). The finding that you were “entirely at fault” is then open to challenge. Without such a sign, you must stop at red.

An insurer that pays under 29bis is subrogated only against third parties liable under ordinary law (art. 29bis §4). According to the Court of Cassation, a motor insurer that pays under 29bis cannot recover the amount from the victim or the victim’s liability insurer, even if the victim was responsible for the accident (Cass. 28.6.2018, C.17.0631.N). So there is no recourse against you or your family liability insurer for your bodily injury compensation. The insurer’s recourse against a liable third party is limited to what the victim could have claimed under ordinary law, and the victim’s own liable share is borne in equal parts by the motor insurers of the vehicles involved (Cass. 30.4.2026, C.24.0501.N). It is different if you also injured someone else (for example a pedestrian or a passenger in the car): the insurer that pays that person can turn to you and your family liability insurer to the extent you are liable under ordinary law (Cass. 22.6.2017, C.15.0080.F).

Damage to your bike is property damage and falls outside 29bis. If the accident was entirely your fault, you get nothing from the car’s side (for events after 1.1.2025, Civil Code art. 6.20; before that, former art. 1382). If you have separate bike insurance, claim under it; see valuables, pets and bikes.

Practical steps:

Ask for a police report; an accident report form is not compulsory for a bike, but it helps (accident report).
Note the car’s number plate and insurer. If unknown, you can ask the Guarantee Fund’s information centre (art. 19bis-8).
Keep medical records, invoices and incapacity certificates.
Send your claim in writing to the car’s insurer. The insurer must make a reasoned offer or reply within 3 months (art. 13-14).
Your health insurance fund (mutualité) may pay first and then recover from the liable insurer; the same loss is never paid twice.

Deadline: a direct action against the liable insurer is time-barred after 5 years (Insurance Act, art. 88 §2). More on deadlines.

As an at-fault cyclist, who pays for the damage to the car? Does my family liability insurance cover it?

You are liable for the car’s damage under ordinary law; in most cases your family liability insurance (RC familiale / BA privéleven) covers that liability. 29bis only applies to your own bodily injury; the car owner’s vehicle damage is not covered by it.

Which rule applies? For accidents after 1.1.2025, fault liability rests on Civil Code Book 6, art. 6.5; for older accidents, on former art. 1382. Running a red light is a fault; if the car driver was also at fault (speeding, inattention), liability is shared.

Family liability insurance: this insurance is not compulsory, but if you have it, it must meet the minimum conditions of the Royal Decree of 12.1.1984. Damage caused while cycling in private life is covered.

The insurer may only rely on the exclusions exhaustively listed in art. 6 of the decree. One of them is liability subject to compulsory insurance (art. 6, 1°). An ordinary bike or a pedal-assist e-bike is not subject to compulsory insurance, so this exclusion does not apply.
Gross negligence can only be excluded if it is listed expressly and exhaustively in the general conditions and the insured had the capacity of discernment (art. 6, 6°; Insurance Act, art. 62). If running a red light is not expressly listed as gross negligence in your policy, it cannot be refused on that ground.
The deductible (franchise) in your policy stays with you; the law sets no fixed amount, so check your contract.
Damage to your own bike is not paid by this insurance (art. 6, 2°: the insured’s own loss).

What does the car owner do? If they have comprehensive cover (omnium), they claim there first; the omnium insurer then turns to you, and therefore to your family liability insurer. Without omnium, they can claim directly from your family liability insurer (Insurance Act, art. 150). The insurers’ RDR fault table does not apply to collisions with bicycles, because a bicycle is not a vehicle subject to insurance.

If you have no family liability insurance, you are personally liable. You can dispute the amount, ask for the expert report and propose a payment plan. If you have legal expenses insurance, use it for lawyer’s fees (legal expenses insurance).

If the cyclist is a child: a child under 12 is not liable for their fault; parents are strictly liable for damage caused by a child under 16 (Book 6, art. 6.9 and 6.12; events after 1.1.2025). Since 1.1.2025 a family liability insurer cannot raise a minor’s intentional act or gross negligence against the injured party (Insurance Act, art. 151 §2). More: family liability insurance.

Practical steps and timing: notify your family liability insurer as soon as reasonably possible (Insurance Act, art. 74). In liability insurance, the duty to notify arises when you know or should know you may be held liable (Cass. 21.4.2023). Forward any letters from the other side to your insurer and do not sign anything admitting fault yourself. Running a red light is also a traffic offence; see traffic fines for the criminal side.

Is my e-bike a motor vehicle? Which insurance applies?

The decisive question is: can the bike move forward on motor power alone, without pedalling? If not, that is, if the motor only kicks in when you pedal, it is not a motor vehicle under the 1989 Act and no compulsory motor insurance is needed.

Case law:

According to the Court of Justice of the EU, an e-bike that only assists pedalling is not a “vehicle” under the motor insurance directive, even if it has a “boost” function accelerating to 20 km/h without pedalling once pedalling has started (CJEU 12.10.2023, C-286/22, KBC v P&V).
The Belgian Court of Cassation applied this to Belgian law: an e-bike is not a motor vehicle under art. 1 of the 1989 Act if its propulsion can only be activated after muscle power has been used (Cass. 20.9.2024, C.21.0376.N). The facts of that case were governed by the text in force before the 2019 amendment.
The criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation also excluded from the notion of “motor vehicle” motors that only provide pedal assistance or a walk/start assistance function (Cass. 16.9.2025, P.25.0771.N; the same judgment held that an e-scooter is a motor vehicle for the purposes of a driving ban).

Summary by type of vehicle:

Vehicle	Motor vehicle?	Compulsory RC auto
Pedal-assist e-bike (assistance cuts off at 25 km/h)	No	None; family insurance
Throttle / self-propelled, ≤25 km/h and ≤25 kg battery included	Yes	None (art. 2bis b); family insurance, otherwise the Guarantee Fund
Throttle / self-propelled, over 25 kg or over 25 km/h	Yes	Yes (with the weight test since 12.4.2024)
Speed pedelec (assistance up to 45 km/h, number plate)	No, if it cannot move without pedalling	None; family insurance. Yes if it has a self-propelled mode other than walk/start assistance and weighs over 25 kg

About speed pedelecs: under the traffic rules a speed pedelec is a “class P moped”: a number plate, an AM or B licence, a minimum age of 16 and a helmet are required. That classification only applies to the traffic rules; the insurance obligation depends on the test in art. 1 of the 1989 Act, namely whether the vehicle can move without muscle power. The case decided by the Court of Cassation on 20.9.2024 concerned precisely a speed pedelec rider: the Bruges court treated the rider as a vulnerable road user and the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal. It declared the specific speed pedelec argument inadmissible because it required an examination of facts; in other words, it laid down no separate rule for speed pedelecs and applied the muscle-power test. The Advocate General’s opinion stated expressly that the “speed pedelec” label is irrelevant for the insurance obligation and that the decisive test is self-propulsion. The FSMA Insurance Commission recorded that this is the majority view in case law and legal writing (opinion C 2022/5; a few authors disagree). The 2025 Vias briefing and the codedelaroute.be brochure reach the same conclusion: without a self-propelled mode, family insurance is enough; walk assistance for getting the bike out of the garage does not count as such a mode. Some insurers and brokers still sell a separate “speed pedelec liability” policy; it is not compulsory. Your family liability insurer cannot exclude a speed pedelec, because the decree only allows liability subject to compulsory insurance to be excluded (see the next section).

The rule changes with the date (art. 2bis):

Before 2019: no exemption; every vehicle driven by mechanical power was subject to insurance.
Act of 2.5.2019: vehicles up to 25 km/h were exempted (except class A mopeds). The Constitutional Court found this exemption contrary to the equality principle because it ignored the vehicle’s mass (Const. Court 28.1.2021, 15/2021).
Act of 2.2.2021 (in force 21.2.2021): vehicles also intended for purposes other than mere travel (such as work machines) became subject to insurance again. There was still no weight test: for accidents between 21.2.2021 and 11.4.2024, a self-propelled vehicle doing at most 25 km/h was exempt under the wording of the Act, whatever its weight. The reasoning of Constitutional Court judgment 15/2021 can also be raised against that text; if you rely on the exemption for a heavy vehicle, take that objection into account.
Act of 17.3.2024 (in force 12.4.2024): the exemption now requires both ≤25 km/h and ≤25 kg battery included. This Act transposed EU Directive 2021/2118.

EU Directive 2021/2118 limited the notion of “vehicle” to vehicles propelled exclusively by mechanical power that exceed certain speed or weight thresholds. The Belgian definition (art. 1) is broader and regulates exemptions separately in art. 2bis; this is possible because the directive sets minimum harmonisation.

If the insurer says “motor vehicle”, ask for and check: the vehicle’s certificate of conformity (certificat de conformité) and type-approval category (a pedal-assist bike under standard EN 15194, L1e-A or L1e-B), whether it has a throttle or self-propelled mode, whether a speed limiter was removed, and the weight including the battery. If you modified the vehicle (for example by removing the speed limit), what counts is its condition at the time of the accident: if the change lets it move without pedalling, it is a motor vehicle; if it only raised the speed at which assistance cuts out, its category under the traffic rules changes (with the number plate and licence requirements that follow).

On 1.6.2027 the federal Code de la voie publique and the Brussels, Flemish and Walloon regional traffic codes come into force; some road rules for speed pedelecs will change. Since the insurance obligation remains in the 1989 Act, this transition does not by itself change the table above.

I hit a pedestrian on my e-bike: who pays, and what if I had no compulsory insurance?

If your bike is pedal-assist, you pay the pedestrian’s loss to the extent of your fault, and your family liability insurance should cover it. If your bike is a motor vehicle subject to insurance and you had no insurance, the Guarantee Fund pays the pedestrian and then claims the money back from the vehicle’s owner, that is, from you.

Situation 1: pedal-assist e-bike (not a motor vehicle).

29bis does not apply; the pedestrian was hit by a cyclist. The pedestrian must prove your fault under ordinary law (after 1.1.2025, Book 6, art. 6.5; before, former art. 1382). If the pedestrian was also at fault, compensation is reduced (art. 6.20).
Your family liability insurer cannot refuse on the ground of “motor vehicle”: art. 6, 1° of the decree only excludes liability subject to compulsory insurance. Under art. 2 of the decree, every family liability policy must provide at least the minimum cover; an exclusion not allowed by art. 6 cannot be applied. The Court of Cassation has also refused an exclusion that art. 6 does not allow (Cass. 25.3.2003, P.02.1097.N).
The pedestrian can claim directly from your family liability insurer (Insurance Act, art. 150).
The Guarantee Fund does not pay in accidents between two vulnerable road users (Fund FAQ).

Situation 2: exempt motor vehicle (≤25 km/h and ≤25 kg, throttle). There is no compulsory insurance. Your family liability insurance covers your liability; the decree allows no exclusion for this. If no insurer covers it, the pedestrian can turn to the Guarantee Fund (1989 Act, art. 19bis-11 §1 9°). Because such vehicles are not motor vehicles for 29bis, the pedestrian must prove your fault (art. 29bis §3).

Situation 3: motor vehicle subject to insurance, no insurance. In this case:

The pedestrian receives compensation for bodily injury under 29bis without having to prove fault.
The Guarantee Fund pays (art. 19bis-11 §1 8°). The Fund then claims the full amount it paid from the vehicle’s owner; for accidents after 22.6.2017 recourse is directed only at the owner (art. 19bis-14 §5; Fund FAQ). For bodily injury this amount can be very high.
Your family liability insurer may then rely on the art. 6, 1° exclusion. There is one carve-out: a minor below the legal age driving a motor vehicle without the parents’ knowledge remains covered.
Riding without insurance is an offence: 8 days to 6 months’ imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1,000 € (plus the statutory multiplier), or one of these penalties (art. 22). The vehicle can be seized (art. 20).

Practical steps:

Help the injured person and call the police. Leaving the scene to avoid the necessary findings, knowing you caused an accident, is a separate offence even if you were not at fault. This applies to cyclists too: art. 33 of the Road Traffic Act covers “any driver of a vehicle” and “anyone” (Act of 16.3.1968).
Notify your family liability insurer in writing at once (Insurance Act, art. 74). If it refuses, ask in writing which exclusion in art. 6 of the decree it relies on.
Gather the vehicle’s technical documents (see the checklist above).
If the refusal stands, you can go to the Insurance Ombudsman; to challenge the grounds for refusal, see refused claim.

Insurer deadlines and your safeguards

The insurer of the vehicle involved must make a reasoned offer or reply within 3 months; the rule expressly covers 29bis claims (1989 Act, art. 13-14).
An advance offer may not contain a “full and final settlement” (quittance pour solde) clause.
Payments under 29bis do not give the insurer a right to cancel the policy after a claim, so the vehicle owner’s policy cannot be cancelled because of the payment made to you (Insurance Act, art. 86 §3).
If the vehicle fled or was uninsured, the Belgian Common Guarantee Fund (Fonds commun de garantie belge / Gemeenschappelijk Motorwaarborgfonds) steps in (1989 Act, art. 19bis-11). More: hit-and-run and uninsured vehicles.

If you were driving a motor vehicle

As the driver of a motor vehicle you cannot use 29bis (art. 29bis §2). For your own injuries you must either prove the other party’s fault or claim under a driver’s insurance (assurance conducteur) or similar cover. Check your policy.

Checklist

Was a motor vehicle involved? Were you its driver?
Did the accident happen on a public road or in a place open to the public?
Do you have the police report, witness details and photos?
Are you keeping medical records and receipts?
Have you sent your claim in writing to the insurer of the vehicle involved? Note the date; send a reminder if there is no answer within 3 months.
If you caused damage to others, have you notified your family liability insurer straight away?
Do you know the e-bike’s certificate of conformity, type-approval category, weight and whether it has a throttle?
If the insurer refused, is the reason in writing and based on art. 6 of the decree?

When a pedestrian, cyclist or passenger is involved, our Accident Report Simulator shows the 29bis protection separately on the result screen.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Current as of 09.10.2026.