Accidents involving electric scooters increase sharply

These are accidents on electric scooters where people are so seriously injured that they are forced to go to emergency hospitals. Not all hospitals are equally good at separating electric scooters from other vehicles.

The accidents are also reported with some delay, so accidents that happened earlier this year are still being reported. Comparing accidents countywide therefore risks being misleading, but most reported accidents have occurred in major cities, especially in Stockholm, as well as in Gothenburg and Malmö. There are also most electric scooter bikes today, and there are also many road users and traffic types that compete for space on sidewalks, roads and squares.

Investigators at the Swedish Transport Agency have previously expressed criticism of the new electric scooters, not least after a fatal accident in Helsingborg in May this year when a 27-year-old man died from his injuries. The investigation into that accident has been closed down, the police could not finally ascertain what had actually happened. But today, the Swedish Transport Agency is more cautious in its criticism in an interview with SVT.

- We are looking at the development of accidents, but it must, for example, be set against the number of trips that take place with the electric scooters, says Pär Norling, Head of Technology and Road at the Swedish Transport Agency.

The Swedish Transport Agency will decide which analysis is required due to the scooter accidents only in one month. And only after that analysis does the authority assess whether the regulations for electric scooters need to be changed or tightened.

- In a comparison, there are over 10,000 common bicycle accidents with injuries every year, but of course the number of cyclists is also significantly more, says Pär Norling.

The Swedish Transport Agency has a dialogue with the police and municipalities in cities where electric scooter bikes are rented out, as well as with the largest renters.

At Voi, a collaboration with the municipality of Gothenburg has led to the electric scooter bikes being re-coded in order not to be able to drive as fast in certain areas with pedestrian lanes. From a maximum of 20 km per hour, down to 6-7 km per hour. It is also the speed that the electric scooters can ride on pavements.

- We think it is important to cooperate with the municipalities, in order to increase safety. And we expect to roll out similar speed limits in, say, Stockholm in a few weeks, says Kristina Hunter Nilsson, CEO of Voi, one of the largest players in the market.

Several analysts believe that the electric scooter cycle is just the beginning of more new electric vehicles in traffic, a development that will probably require not only some regulation, but also new infrastructure to increase road users' safety. One of the problems with electric scooters is that they are not really used as bicycles.

The fact that the riders usually lack helmets, is often very young and that many people ride on them and in violation of many traffic rules, not just too fast.

But in the meantime, many people are also pleased with the new vehicles. At Nybroviken in Stockholm, both tourists and Stockholmers congregate on sidewalks, roads and bike lanes, and it is sometimes crowded about the space along the quay. But no users SVT speaks to, everything from children to senior citizens, are particularly worried about accidents.

- I haven't fallen, and I'm not worried. But as soon as they do not go, Ellinor Nilsson says and kicks on.