The number of accidents involving electric scooters and resulting in injuries or fatalities has continued to rise.
In 2024, German police registered 11,944 electric scooter accidents involving personal injury, a 26.7% increase from the 9,425 accidents recorded in 2023. Tragically, 27 individuals lost their lives in these incidents, up from 22 fatalities in 2023, according to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The total number of people injured included 1,513 seriously injured and 11,433 lightly injured.
The vast majority of those involved in these accidents – 10,886, or 83.9% – were riding the scooters themselves, including all 27 fatalities. An additional 508 individuals, or 4.7%, were passengers on the scooters, a rise from 328 (3.9%) in 2023. Local regulations prohibit passenger transport on electric scooters.
While electric scooters are a factor in accidents, their overall contribution remains comparatively small. Out of 290,701 traffic accidents involving personal injury in 2024, just 4.1% involved electric scooter riders, an increase from 3.2% in 2023.
The frequency of bicycle accidents is significantly higher: 93,279 bicycle accidents involving personal injury were recorded in 2024, representing 32.1% of all accidents with personal injury. These accidents resulted in 445 fatalities and 13,919 serious injuries.
A disproportionate number of young people are involved in scooter accidents. In 2024, 48.6% of those involved in accidents were under 25 years old, with 82.0% under 45. Conversely, only 3.3% were 65 or older. This contrasts with bicycle accident victims, where 21.4% were under 25, 48.3% were under 45 and 20.5% were 65+.
Accidents often result from multiple factors; police frequently observe various infractions. Incorrect use of roadways or sidewalks was the most common violation by electric scooter riders, accounting for 21.2% of incidents. Riders are required to use designated bicycle lanes or paths where available, with roadways or sidewalks as alternatives. Sidewalk riding is prohibited.
Driving under the influence of alcohol was another prevalent issue, flagged in 12.4% of incidents, compared to 7.8% for bicycle riders and 5.9% for other types of motorized vehicles. Failure to adjust speed was the third most frequent violation (8.0%), followed by disregarding right-of-way (6.2%).
In 31.4% of the 11,944 accidents involving personal injury, there were no other vehicles or people involved in the accident. Fourteen of the 27 fatalities occurred in single-vehicle incidents.
Most accidents (66.5%) involved another traffic participant, most frequently a car (5,302 incidents). Of the scooter riders injured in collisions with cars, 50.5% sustained injuries and seven died. In contrast, 4.7% of scooter riders suffered injuries in collisions with bicycles.
In accidents involving two parties, electric scooter riders were deemed primarily at fault in 47.6% of cases. When considering the type of vehicle involved: in collisions with cars (5,302 accidents), scooter riders were at fault in only 35.2% of incidents. In bicycle collisions (1,140 accidents), fault lay with scooter riders in 72.7% of cases, while in pedestrian accidents (869), the share was as high as 87.7%.
Accidents involving electric scooters are most common in larger cities. In 2024, 53.7% of accidents involving personal injury occurred in cities with a population of at least 200,000. In cities with a population of at least 500,000, the rate was 30.9%.
