Business 5 December 2025, 12:00pm

Micromobility accidents jump almost 80% in annual terms in Hungary in January-October

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The number of traffic accidents involving personal injury caused by micromobility vehicles is increasing dramatically in Hungary. While 337 such cases were recorded between January and October 2024, there were already 600 in the same period in 2025, representing a 78% increase. The problem is not limited to the capital, with alarmingly high accident rates in several counties, according to vezess.hu.

In response to the rapid increase in accidents involving electric scooters and other micromobility vehicles, the National Police Headquarters (ORFK) began recording them as a separate category in January 2024. Only four such accidents were recorded in January, but by the end of June, this number had risen to 178. In total, 386 accidents resulting in personal injury occurred throughout the year.

By the end of October 2025, the number of accidents had already surpassed 600 — significantly (55%) more than the total number of cases in 2024.

It is important to note that these statistics only include injuries that take more than eight days to heal — in other words, the most serious cases. Accidents involving only bruising, minor injuries or purely material damage do not appear in the official records.

Relying on data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), we closely follow road accidents statistics, particulary those resulting in injury and involving e-scooters. See our articles below:

There was a glitch in the ORFK statistics last October, as the table including micromobility accidents was the same one they published in September. Consequently, comparing the first ten months of 2025 with January-October last year is... well, tricky.It is also worth noting that micromobility vehicles are not specified in domestic legislation.

Although judicial practice increasingly treats them as vehicles, the current traffic regulations do not contain any provisions in this regard. This represents a serious legal loophole.

--- It is unclear where they can travel: on the road, on bike paths or on sidewalks?

--- It is unclear what rules they must follow, or indeed if traffic regulations apply to them.

--- In the event of a violation or accident, liability and consequences are unclear.

--- The person who caused the damage, or even the injured person who left the scene, cannot be identified.

--- Even if the perpetrator is known, the chances of compensation for an innocent victim involved in an accident are slim, as compulsory liability insurance only covers certain types of equipment.

--- There is no requirement to wear protective equipment such as a helmet or reflective vest.

Although the exact number of electric scooters in use in the country is unknown — some are privately owned, while others are provided by shared services — the Future Mobility Association estimated the size of the fleet to be around 100,000 in 2024.

With 178 micromobility accidents resulting in peronal injury in the first ten months of 2025, Budapest is in the lead. This is not surprising, given that there are nearly two dozen e-scooter rental companies operating in the capital and that tourists use these vehicles in greater numbers here. However, it is also noteworthy that the data for two counties is striking: in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, users of micromobility vehicle caused 50 accidents resulting in personal injury; in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, the figure was 47.

When these figures are compared to the population of these counties, the ratios are approaching those of Budapest.

The severity of the problem is highlighted by the fact that, from January 2026, the municipality of Szeged will impose fines of up to HUF 200,000 on people riding electric scooters in pedestrian areas.

Accidents involving children are particularly worrying. In the first seven months of the year, Bethesda Children's Hospital treated a total of 202 children who had sustained injuries while riding electric scooters.

In some cases, as many as five or six children arrived with serious injuries in a single shift.

Almost one in five cases involved head injuries, and 11 children were in a serious or life-threatening condition.

These figures relate only to Bethesda, only to children, and only to those who were hospitalised.

They are asking children

to choose a bicycle instead of an e-scooter;
to always wear a helmet when riding;
not to ride fast on two wheels.

They made these recommendations on good authotiriy, seeing the consequences every day.

With around 4.3 million passenger cars on the roads of Hungary, micromobility vehicles have now become a significant factor in accident statistics. While they ranked seventh in 2024, they are set to rise to fourth place in 2025.

According to experts, one of the keys to solving this problem is the use of the right protective equipment. Furthermore, an increasing number of people believe that this mode of transport is completely unsuitable for 10- to 14-year-olds.

However, the regulatory response is still delayed, as mentioned above. The new traffic regulations were originally scheduled for implementation in March 2025, but have been postponed several times since then. In September, the Minister of Transport announced that an online public consultation on the planned rules would be launched shortly, but this has yet to happen. According to the latest plans, the new traffic regulations, which will organise the rules for using micro-mobility devices into ten thematic groups and separate chapters, could be ready by autumn 2026 at the earliest.

What do the numbers show?

The ORFK statistics show that there were fewer accidents resulting in injury this year than in 2024, regardless of whether they were caused by passenger car drivers, cyclists, moped riders or motorcyclists. However, micromobility vehicle users stand out, with significantly more such accidents.

Passenger car drivers continue to be responsible for about 63% of road accidents resulting in personal injury, which is a marked improvement from over 75% in January this year.

In October this year, motorcycle riders were responsible for 4.9% of road accidents resulting in personal injury, which is almost the same as a year earlier (4.8%). Meanwhile, cyclists caused 9.4% of such accidents. The charts clearly show the seasonality in the use of these forms of transport.

The rising proportion of micromobility vehicles involved in accidents resulting in personal injury is somewhat staggering, and this trend is alarming. While their ratio was just 2% at the start of this year — and virtually zero in January 2024 — it had already risen to almost 5% by August and remained there too. Winter will bring a relief in these figures, though.