Overview
- Austria’s new traffic code now treats most e‑scooters as vehicles and requires bar‑end turn signals, a brake, a horn or bell, no passengers or cargo, helmets for riders under 16, and a 0.5‰ alcohol limit, with experts warning many older models may be hard to retrofit.
- Italy will require a person‑bound registration sticker, liability insurance, helmets for all riders, working indicators and a brake light, and it will limit riding to streets capped at 50 km/h, with fines up to €800 and possible confiscation that also apply to tourists.
- German police checks in Hattingen and Sprockhövel flagged 113 offenses overall and issued 15 fines tied to e‑scooters, and officers pulled a heavily modified teen motor scooter off the road after its permit was voided.
- Regional data from Saxony show e‑scooter casualties rose last year to three deaths, 29 serious injuries and 169 minor injuries, and Berlin recorded another severe crash this weekend involving a 59‑year‑old rider.
- A patchwork of national and local rules is taking shape across Europe, and further steps are coming in Austria this October when many e‑mopeds used for deliveries will need registration, insurance, a license and helmets off bike lanes.