Road safety board urges tougher e-scooter rules after five deaths

Five e-scooter riders have died in traffic in Austria this year, prompting the Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit (KFV), the country’s road safety board, to call for tighter rules, ORF reported. The latest fatality was a 14-year-old who died in Liesing on Tuesday.

The KFV says e-scooter riders are more at risk than any other group of road users. Last year, about 10,200 people were treated in Austrian hospitals for injuries, and six people died. The number of people injured was almost 90% lower in 2019, the board said.

KFV expert Klaus Robatsch called for mandatory helmets, stricter age rules and a lower maximum design speed. He said everyone riding an e-scooter or e-bike should wear a helmet, which could prevent more than 1,000 traumatic brain injuries a year in Austria.

The board wants the minimum age raised to an internationally usual level. In Austria, people can currently ride an e-scooter from the age of 12, or from nine if they have passed the voluntary cycling test. It also wants the maximum design speed cut from 25 km/h to 20 km/h and two independent brakes made compulsory. The KFV cited Germany and Switzerland as examples of countries with relevant measures and said its proposals could reduce the risk of e-scooter injuries by up to 50%.

A KFV examination carried out over the summer found that 49% of e-scooters were inadequately equipped or did not meet legal requirements. Required equipment includes a brake, a bell or horn, an indicator, reflectors and front and rear lights, with the lights required only in poor visibility or darkness. Reflectors must be white at the front, yellow on the sides and red at the rear.

Robatsch also said riders should adjust their speed to traffic conditions, including when approaching intersections or riding in pedestrian zones. He called for better public information about the rules and improved cycling infrastructure, including wider cycle paths.