Traffic
Significantly more serious accidents with e-scooters
Last year there were 8260 accidents with e-scooters. photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa/symbol image
In 2022, people were injured in 8,260 accidents involving e-scooters – 67 percent more than in the previous year. In particular, the wrong use of the road and alcohol played a role.
The number of accidents involving e-scooters has increased significantly in the past year. People were injured in 8,260 accidents with the small electric scooters, which means an increase of 67 percent, said the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Wednesday, citing preliminary figures. The authority attributed the significant increase to the increasing number of e-scooters. Eleven people died, compared to five in the previous year.
1234 people were seriously injured in e-scooter accidents in 2022, 7651 slightly. According to the information, more than 80 percent of those injured were traveling with the e-scooter themselves, including 10 of the 11 fatalities. In around 36 percent of the accidents involving personal injury, there was no other party to the accident.
The most common causes were incorrect use of the roadway and alcohol: In 18.6 percent of the cases, the roadway or sidewalks were used illegally, in 18.0 percent the drivers were under the influence of alcohol and in 7.2 percent they were driving too fast. Overall, the police charged the drivers with misconduct in 8,497 cases – several of these could also come together in an accident, the Federal Office said. The authority did not count accidents caused by carelessly parked e-scooters.
Young people in particular use e-scooters
The scooters continue to flit around mainly in larger cities. According to the information, almost 65 percent of accidents involving personal injury were registered in cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants. 40.2 percent of the drivers were younger than 25 years.
However, e-scooters played a minor role in the total number of accidents. E-scooter drivers were involved in 2.9 percent of the 288,000 road accidents involving personal injury registered in Germany last year. In 2021, the proportion was slightly lower at 2.1 percent, the authority said.