The variety of alternatives that currently exist to get around has transformed the mobility paradigm in Spanish cities. In recent years, pedestrians have acquired a greater role, while solutions such as bicycles or new forms of sharing have joined conventional means such as cars, motorcycles and public transport.
However, if there is one actor that has stood out above the rest in the last five years, it has been the electric scooter, a personal mobility vehicle (VMP) that has seen its use skyrocket. The agility that it provides and the low economic cost of its use and maintenance, added to the increase in the cost of cars and fuel, are some of the reasons that have made electric scooters the vehicle of choice for hundreds of thousands of Spaniards.
But its irruption has been as explosive as controversial. The speed with which electric scooters have spread through large Spanish cities has generated discrepancies, such as whether or not it is necessary to implement mandatory insurance for these vehicles, for which the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) was forced to establish traffic regulations, embodied in the latest Traffic and Road Safety Law that came into force in March 2022.
Despite everything, the majority of the population -also a good part of scooter users- still does not know what VMPs can and cannot do, so both their rules of use and Traffic recommendations are violated daily in the streets of the country. A situation that often generates a feeling of insecurity among pedestrians, especially the elderly.
Logically, the increase in electric scooters in Spain (some 800,000 in 2022, according to the DGT) has resulted in an increase in the accident rate for this group. Personal mobility vehicles (VMP) are involved in 4.13% of accidents with victims that occur in urban areas, according to Formaster, the Professional Association of Training Companies in Logistics, Transport and Road Safety.
A reality that is beginning to be “disturbing”, according to those responsible for said study, given that electric scooter drivers already represent 2% of the total deaths due to traffic accidents in the city and 4% of drivers seriously injured or who they need hospitalization.
In addition, what is perceived in the streets is verified: the rules are not respected. The results of the report show that in 33.7% (one third) of traffic accidents involving electric scooters and other VMP, drivers break some rule or drive recklessly. Next, we explain which are the most committed infractions.
In the first place, driving in the opposite direction, through a prohibited place (such as sidewalks or pedestrian areas) or invading the opposite lane. Despite being strictly prohibited by the DGT, these behaviors were present in 34.4% of the accidents in which electric scooters were involved.
22.6% of VMP users who suffered an accident did not respect the priority in a Yield, a STOP or any other circumstance. In third place, 10.5% did not comply with the speed limits for this class of vehicles, while 5.3% of the users involved in an accident did not respect a pedestrian crossing.
On the other hand, Formaster’s analysis indicates that 2.4% of VMP accident victims were passengers in the vehicle. It is a practice “very common among young people, who use rental scooters in large cities,” explain those responsible. However, it is also “very dangerous” and, in addition, it is considered a serious infraction, since these vehicles are for the use of a single person, they add.
In this line, the association has highlighted that the profile of the victim of a scooter driver in the city is a young man, between 21 and 34 years old, while the female victims were mainly between 18 and 29 years old. It stands out that 4.7% of the people who drove were under 15 years of age, despite the fact that in many cities a minimum of 16 years of age is required for this.
Lastly, the accident rate report indicates that 34.1% of the scooters involved in accidents had some anomaly. Therefore, they failed to comply with any of the characteristics established by the DGT, among which are having a brake system; buzzer or other audible warning devices; and lights and reflectors both rear and front.
