The number of e-scooter accidents with personal injuries in Germany rose dramatically in 2025 and was therefore significantly higher than the general traffic accident figures. While those only increased by 2.3 percent, e-scooter crashes shot up by 38.1 percent. While there were 11,944 in 2024, the German statistics office Destatis counted 16,496 e-scooter accidents with injuries in the previous year. Their share of all accidents resulting in personal injury grew from 4.1 to 5.5 percent.
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According to Destatis figures, 38 people died in e-scooter accidents, 1,895 were seriously injured and 16,184 were slightly injured. 82.4 percent of those involved in the accident were on the e-scooter, and 33 of them died. The number of fatalities on these small electric vehicles has been rising continuously for years: from 10 in 2022 to 21 (2023) and 27 (2024) to now 33.
The most common cause of accidents, at 21.6 percent, is incorrect use of the road or sidewalk. Although the StVO requires vehicles to use existing cycle paths and have no place on sidewalks, many users ignore this rule. Drinking alcohol on the handlebars is the second most common cause at 10.9 percent, significantly more than bicycle accidents, of which only 7.7 percent were caused while intoxicated. In third place is unadapted speed at 8.4 percent.
What is striking is the high solo accident rate: 30.5 percent of all e-scooter accidents with personal injuries occurred without anyone else involved. Almost half of the 33 drivers who had fatal accidents died in such solo accidents. According to an analysis by the Björn Steiger Foundation, alcohol plays a “significant” role: around 60 percent of solo accidents are due to loss of control due to a fall or loss of balance after consuming alcohol.
Small wheels, big risks
The technical characteristics of the vehicles contribute to the high single-accident rate. E-scooters are usually equipped with 8-inch wheels, which can cause the e-scooters to experience uncontrollable driving dynamics even on bumps, curbs and road structures. According to the Steiger Foundation, 32 percent of serious solo accidents were due to such obstacles. Poor soil conditions due to sand, grit or loose paving stones are another factor. Crash simulations by the HTW Berlin show that the stresses in falls at 25 km/h are significantly higher than at the currently permitted 20 km/h – an argument against the discussed increase in the maximum speed.
Young, urban, willing to take risks
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The age structure of those involved in the accident underlines that e-scooter accidents are primarily a problem for young users in large cities. At 53.6 percent, more than half of those involved in the accident were younger than 25 and 83.7 percent were younger than 45. Almost half of all e-scooter accidents occurred in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. According to the Steiger Foundation, the accident occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and on Friday to Sunday.
Illegal behavior is also reflected in the statistics: 5.5 percent of those involved in accidents rode on e-scooters, even though the vehicles are only permitted for one person according to the StVO. The rate increased further compared to the previous year’s figure of 4.7 percent. In collisions with pedestrians, e-scooter riders were primarily at fault in 88.7 percent of cases, and in collisions with bicycles in 74.3 percent.
Accident researchers are calling for stricter rules
The Björn Steiger Foundation assesses the existing small electric vehicle regulation and its planned amendment as inadequate. The accident researchers recommend, among other things, the introduction of the tried and tested moped test certificate, which would automatically raise the minimum age to 15 years and ensure basic knowledge of the StVO. They also call for mandatory minimum sizes for wheels of 10 inches or more, a limitation of parking spaces in areas with high levels of alcohol consumption and increased controls. Accident research rejects a general helmet requirement due to the predominantly minor head injuries and instead recommends educational campaigns. They clearly reject an increase in the maximum speed to 25 km/h for safety reasons.
In contrast to the general traffic accident record in 2025 with its long-term stable trend over many years, e-scooters show an increasingly noticeable problem area. This is likely to remain the case as long as fleet expansion and user numbers increase and the regulatory gaps continue.
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(fpi)
