Vulnerable road users: compensation under article 29bis of the Motor Insurance Act

If you are hit by a car while on foot or on a bicycle, you do not have to prove that the driver was at fault to be compensated for your personal injury. That is the effect of article 29bis of the Act of 21 November 1989 on compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance, the Motor Insurance Act (loi RC auto). This article protects what is known as the vulnerable road user (usager faible).

This scheme has existed since 1995. It is based on a simple idea: anyone travelling on foot, by bicycle or as a passenger is vulnerable when faced with a motor vehicle. The insurer of that vehicle pays for the personal injury, even if the driver was not at fault and even if the victim was at fault. In this article, you will find out who is protected, what is compensated and where the limits lie. A broader overview is in our article road accident: what to do?.

Who is a vulnerable road user?

The law itself does not use the term “vulnerable road user”. It protects all victims of a road accident involving a motor vehicle, with one major exception: the driver of a motor vehicle involved. In practice, this covers:

• pedestrians, including children and people on the pavement;
• cyclists, including those on an electric pedal-assist bicycle up to 25 km/h;
• users of an electric scooter or other personal mobility device that does not exceed 25 km/h;
• passengers in a car, bus or lorry, including in the vehicle of the driver at fault or of their own partner;
• horse riders and wheelchair users.

The driver of a car, motorcycle or moped is not protected. For his or her own personal injury, he or she must prove that someone else was at fault, or claim under his or her own driver’s insurance.

What about speed pedelecs?

A speed pedelec can reach 45 km/h and is a moped within the meaning of the Highway Code (Code de la route). For the Motor Insurance Act, it is a motor vehicle that must be insured. Anyone riding a speed pedelec is therefore in principle treated as the driver of a motor vehicle, not as a vulnerable road user. An ordinary electric pedal-assist bicycle up to 25 km/h, on the other hand, remains protected. Where exactly the line lies between the two is still debated in case law and legal writing, especially for bicycles with an extra push function.

What is compensated?

Article 29bis compensates:

• all loss resulting from bodily injury: medical expenses, loss of earnings, temporary and permanent incapacity, disfigurement, pain and non-material loss;
• damage to clothing;
• in the event of death: the loss suffered by relatives, such as funeral costs, loss of income and non-material loss.

The amounts are calculated as under the ordinary rules of liability. You therefore receive the same compensation as if the driver were entirely at fault. The amounts that judges use as a guideline are set out in the Indicative Table 2024.

Not compensated under article 29bis: your bicycle, helmet, glasses, mobile phone, laptop or other belongings. This material damage is only compensated if you prove that the driver was at fault.

Even if the driver was not at fault

This is the heart of the scheme. It does not matter whether or not the driver complied with the Highway Code. Even if you were the one at fault, for example by crossing without looking or cycling through a red light, your personal injury is compensated in full. There is no apportionment of liability.

The article also applies where the driver caused the damage intentionally.

When are you excluded?

There is only one exception. A victim over 14 who intended the accident and its consequences cannot rely on article 29bis.

This exception is very narrow. The Court of Cassation interprets it strictly: only a person who knowingly intended the harm itself is excluded. In practice, this comes down to suicide or self-harm. Serious fault, even reckless behaviour or crossing while under the influence, is not enough. It is for the insurer to prove intent.

A recent example is a judgment of 31 March 2026 of the Hainaut court (Mons division). A passenger had got out of the car after an argument and crossed a motorway, where she was struck and killed. The insurer refused to pay, because she should have known the danger. The judge held that it had not been proven that she knowingly intended the harm. The relatives were compensated under article 29bis.

Young children up to 14 are always protected, even if they intended the accident.

When is a motor vehicle “involved”?

Article 29bis requires a road accident involving a motor vehicle. A collision is not necessary. The Court of Cassation reiterated on 12 September 2025 (C.24.0104.F) that a vehicle is involved as soon as it played any role at all in the accident. A causal link between the presence of the vehicle and the accident is not required.

Some examples:

• a cyclist who falls because he or she has to swerve to avoid a car pulling away suddenly;
• a pedestrian who is hit first by one car, then by a second;
• a cyclist who rides into a badly parked van.

The victim must, however, show involvement with sufficient certainty. In the judgment of 31 March 2026, a second car that had driven over the victim’s body was not considered to be involved, because it was not established that this car had still had any influence on the death.

A tram or train can also be an involved vehicle, where it shares the road with other road users.

Who pays?

The motor liability insurer of the motor vehicle involved pays. If several motor vehicles are involved, their insurers are jointly and severally liable: you can claim the full amount from any one of them.

If the vehicle was uninsured or remained unidentified, for example after a hit-and-run, the Motor Guarantee Fund (Fonds commun de garantie automobile) steps in.

The insurer that compensates you can then recover the amount from whoever is actually liable, for example another driver. That is a matter between insurers and does not affect your compensation.

The link with the ordinary rules of liability

Article 29bis is in addition to the ordinary rules of liability; it does not replace them. This has two consequences:

• Your material damage, such as your bicycle, you claim under the ordinary rules. The driver’s fault does then matter, and your own fault can also reduce your compensation.
• Other benefits, such as those from your health insurance fund (mutuelle) or a workplace accident insurer, are deducted. You are not compensated twice for the same loss.

Frequently asked questions

Have your case reviewed

Is the insurer refusing to pay because you were supposedly at fault, or disputing that its policyholder was involved? We assess your case and claim your compensation. Also read our article on compensation after a road accident. Contact us.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.