Hungary mulls special rules for e-scooters

Staggering figures

Thirteen-year-old Bandi wanted nothing more than a new electric scooter, which he could get in exchange for good grades. He used it for just one day before hitting a pothole and breaking his arm.

As far as he could remember, the front wheel of his scooter had hit a pothole, causing him to fly off. As his head was bouncing off the asphalt, he recalled thinking earlier that the ridiculous helmet was just for show. Now it was dented, but it had protected his head nonetheless. However, the sharp pain in his arm made it clear that he was in serious trouble. Gradually, his entire T-shirt became soaked in blood. He was taken to Bethesda Children's Hospital in an ambulance, where he was diagnosed with an open fracture of the upper arm. He was then transferred to the surgical ward and subsequently taken to an operating theatre.

The above is an exerpt from a Facebook post by Bethesda, which also presented staggering numbers.

over the course of seven months, 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.

New rules ahead

The new traffic regulations coming into force soon will include special rules for motorised scooters or e-scooters. Signs saying 'No motorised scooters' may also appear on the streets, the Ministry of Construction and Transport told news portal Telex.

E-scooters will be divided into two groups. One group will include scooters with a maximum speed of less than 25 km/h. The other group will include scooters that are faster than this or have a power output of more than 1000 watts.

The current Road Traffic Regulations (KRESZ) do not mention electric scooters as a means of transport.

According to the ministry, the current traffic regulations, which have been in force for nearly fifty years and have been amended several times, still

cannot fully cover the changes that have taken place in mobility needs, technological developments and transport culture in recent decades.

This is why the regulations relating to e-scooters, for example, are inadequate.

According to the ministry's plans, it intends to present its proposals for the new traffic regulations in the autumn, after which everyone will have the opportunity to comment on them and suggest changes. Minister of Construction and Transport, János Lázár, previously said that the aim is to hold a national consultation on the new traffic regulations, with the intention of implementing the new system in September 2026.

It is estimated that there are between 80,000 and 100,000 e-scooters in Hungary, of which around 25,000 are available for rent or shared use. The remainder are privately owned. Although there are no official statistics, these figures are based on surveys and estimates from organisations such as the Future Mobility Association.

The most significant change is the distinction between lower- and higher-performance scooters. Lower-performance e-scooters, which can reach speeds of up to 25 km/h, can be ridden by children aged 12 and over. However, 12- and 13-year-olds must wear a cycle helmet. These vehicles will be permitted to travel at a maximum speed of 10 km/h on pavements and 20 km/h in other traffic areas.

The rules for higher-performance scooters are set to be even stricter. Those capable of speeds of up to 45 km/h will be subject to the same regulations as mopeds. Riders must be at least 14 years old and have compulsory third-party insurance. These scooters will be only permitted on roads and, outside built-up areas, on cycle paths at reduced speeds. They will be completely prohibited from using pavements and cannot carry passengers.

Road accidents resulting in injury

Motor vehicles for passenger transport caused 1,297 accidents resulting in personal injuries in June 2025, which corresponds to an increase of 21.4% compared to May, and 8.4% more than in the same month of 2024, the latest KSH data show.

The figure for June 2025 is the highest for the month since 2021. The graph below clearly reflects seasonal patterns, with the number of road accidents involving injuries rising between the start of the year and the end of summer.

The number of accidents caused by the drivers of passenger cars, modepds, motorcycles or bicycles fits into the seasonal pattern.

The total number of road accidents involcing personal injuries (which includes those that were caused by pedestrians, freigh transport or other passenger transport vehicles) was 1,487 in June, up 18.8% m/m and 8.3% yr/yr.

Fortunately, the number of road accidents resulting in injury, as well as their severity, have decreased considerably since 2011. The impact of the lockdowns imposed during the pandemic is evident in the significant reduction in accidents in 2020, although there has been an increase since then. The share of fatal road accidents, however, kept on dropping and has gone down to 3.0% last year from 3.6% in 2011. The proportion of serious injuries is only slightly lower, though - at 28.2% against 28.6%.

Bikes, mopeds, motorcycles...

The KSH has longer-term statistics for accidents caused by the riders of bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles. These go back to January 2021 and also show a seasonal pattern, with much higher accident numbers for cyclists, especially when it comes to the cumulated figure.

E-bikes, e-scooters...

The Central Statistical Office (KSH) has only started collecting statistics on accidents involving e-scooter or e-bike riders since January 2024.

• Last year, e-scooter riders were involved in 367 accidents resulting in personal injury, and there were 253 such accidents in the first six months of this year, up 52.4% from 166 in the first half of 2024.
• E-bike riders caused 133 accidents resulting in personal injury on the road last year, and 64 in the first six months of 2025, up 6.7% from 60 in H1 last year.
• By comparison, moped drivers caused 497 accidents resulting in personal injury in 2024, and 219 in the half of this year, against 246 (-11%) in January-June 2024.
• Meanwhile, bike riders (not on e-bike) caused 1,228 accidents resulting in personal injury last year, and 557 in the first six months this year, down 9.7% from 617 a year earlier.
• Passenger car drivers caused 9,675 accidents resulting in personal injury last year, and 4,248 in January-June this year, down 5.3% from 4,488 in the same period last year.

Unfortunately, June saw the highest number of e-scooter accidents resulting in injuries (77).

The cumulative number of such accidents was 620. (The KSH began publishing statistics on e-bike and e-scooter accidents in January 2024.)

In June, there were 25 accidents caused by e-bike riders, also the highest monthly reading, bringing the total number of such accidents to 197.

How serious are the accidents?

As regards the seriousness of the accidents, the KSH breaks them down into four categories: (i) fatal, (ii) serious injury, (iii) light injury, (iv) no injury. Unfortunately, the KSH does not have an age breakdown for the road accidents.

Bike accidents

Last year, 23 accidents (1.9%) caused by bike riders were fatal.

This figure was 1.6% for the first six months of last year and 1.8% for January-June this year.

The percentage of serious injuries went up to 35.5% from 32.3% in H1, while that of light injuries moderated to 62.3% from 66.1%.

Moped accidents

As for moped riders, six or 1.2% of personal injury accidents were fatal last year.

The 0.8% fatality rate for January-June 2024 grew to 1.8% in the same period this year.

The percentage of serious injuries rose to 41.6% from 36.6%, while that of light injuries dropped to 57.1% from 62.6%.

E-scooter accidents

Of the 367 accidents resulting in personal injury in 2024, only three (0.8%) were fatal when caused by an e-scooter rider.

There were one fatality in this category in the first six months of 2025 (0.4%), just like in the same period last year (0.6%).

The ratio of serious injuries rose eased to 30% from 36%, while that of light injuries exceeded 69%, up from 63.3% in H1 2024.

E-bike accidents

Last year, three accidents caused by e-bikers were fatal, accounting for 2.3% of the 133 cases.

In contrast, one of the 64 cases this year proved to be fatal, equating to 1.6%.

More than one third (23) of the total number of accidents resulting in injuries, ended with serious injuries, down from almost 42% in January-June last year, while the share of light injuries went up to 62.5% from over 58%.

Cover image: Getty/ picture alliance