Austria May Tighten E-Scooter Rules
VIENNA — Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) is considering tougher rules for e-scooter users, only months after stricter regulations came into force in Austria, according to ORF News.
One possible change would be to extend the current helmet requirement from people under 16 to all users below the age of 18. A spokesman for Hanke confirmed the idea to the APA, following comments the minister made in an interview with the Sunday edition of the Kronen Zeitung.
Hanke said the possible changes were being considered because e-scooters were still involved in numerous accidents, some of them serious. Behind the quick and convenient journeys, he said, there remained a clear risk—especially for young people.
The minister plans to review the impact of the new rules in spring 2027, when they will have been in force for a full year. If accident and injury figures have not improved by then, he wants to discuss further measures.
“Young people must be protected,” Hanke told the Kronen Zeitung. He pointed to several rules already in place, including the helmet requirement for children up to the age of 16, new equipment standards for e-scooters and a lower legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.5 per mille.
Hanke also warned that some e-scooters are being used beyond the limits set by law. Vehicles that can travel faster than permitted or have been modified illegally remain a concern for authorities.
“We all know that there are e-scooters operating beyond the legal rules. This must be severely restricted,” he said.
Hanke added that he would work with Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) to curb what he described as “road hooliganism”. The government hopes stricter enforcement and safer equipment will reduce dangerous behaviour on Austria’s streets.
