There are more and more accidents involving e-scooters in which people are injured: in 2022 there were 49 percent more than in 2021. 11 people were even killed in e-scooter accidents and 8,800 were injured (although not all accidents were certainly recorded by the police and are therefore not included in these statistics). This development is not new. But one detail in the accident statistics makes you sit up and take notice: it is primarily a group of e-scooter drivers that causes a particularly large number of accidents.
Young occasional riders with rental e-scooters are dangerous
Because it is not the e-scooter drivers who own their own e-scooter who cause the most accidents. The worst causes of accidents are occasional drivers who only use rented e-scooters.
The insurance association has published an exciting comparison between two statistics: the share of rental e-scooters in all registered e-scooters in Germany and the share of rental e-scooters in all accidents with e-scooters in Germany. Accordingly, 25 percent of the e-scooters available in Germany are rental devices. But these 25 percent are involved in 56 percent of all accidents (2,350 accidents) involving e-scooters that cause damage – 11 percent of which are personal injuries.
The insurance association writes: “Occasional drivers, on the other hand, are younger on average, almost exclusively use rental scooters for trips in their free time and ride on the sidewalk more often.” The latter is usually prohibited. In contrast, “frequent riders usually use scooters to get to work, are over 30, ride on the bike path or on the street, wear a helmet more often and often have their own scooter.” In other words: the younger occasional riders who use rental scooters are much more dangerous than the older frequent riders who own their own e-scooter.
The costs (treatment costs, loss of work, compensation for pain and suffering) per e-scooter accident with personal injuries amount to 13,000 euros.
Driving license for e-scooter drivers
Insurers are now demanding countermeasures such as proof of competence, i.e. a kind of driving license for e-scooters. For example, the driving license for a moped could be used. Insurers are also thinking about reaction tests that could be integrated into the apps for rental e-scooters. These tests were intended to detect whether someone is intoxicated. In addition, public order offices and the police should monitor sidewalks more strictly and remove e-scooter drivers from traffic there.
Paris has long since responded to problems with e-scooters and banned them in the city. London, Barcelona and Hamburg, in turn, ban e-scooters on their subways.
