Germany recorded a significant increase in road accidents involving electric scooters in 2025, with both the number of injury crashes and fatalities rising sharply compared with the previous year, according to data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
Police recorded 16,496 injury-related traffic accidents involving e-scooters during the year, an increase of 38.1 per cent from the 11,944 incidents reported in 2024. The crashes claimed 38 lives, up from 27 a year earlier, while 1,895 people suffered serious injuries and another 16,184 sustained minor injuries.
The vast majority of those injured or killed were e-scooter riders themselves, accounting for 82.4 per cent of all casualties. Of the 38 people who died, 33 were riding an e-scooter, including one passenger. Under German traffic regulations, only one person is permitted to ride an electric scooter, and carrying passengers is prohibited.
The remaining fatalities included three pedestrians, one cyclist and one motorist.
Although the number of accidents has increased considerably, e-scooters still account for a relatively small share of overall road traffic incidents. They were involved in 5.5 per cent of Germany’s 297,364 injury-related road accidents in 2025, compared with 4.1 per cent the previous year. By comparison, cyclists were involved in 97,035 injury crashes, representing 32.6 per cent of all such incidents.
The data also show that younger people are disproportionately affected. More than half, or 53.6 per cent, of e-scooter riders who were injured or killed were under the age of 25, while 83.7 per cent were younger than 45. People aged 65 and over accounted for only 3.1 per cent of casualties.
The most common cause of e-scooter accidents was riding on inappropriate road surfaces, cited in 21.6 per cent of cases. German traffic rules require riders to use cycle paths or bicycle lanes where available, while riding on pavements is prohibited.
Alcohol consumption was identified as the second most frequent contributing factor, accounting for 10.9 per cent of accidents, followed by inappropriate speed, which was recorded in 8.4 per cent of cases.
Nearly one-third of all injury-related e-scooter accidents, or 30.5 per cent, involved no other road users. 16 of the 38 fatalities occurred in these single-vehicle crashes.
Among accidents involving another road user, passenger cars were the most common collision partner. More than half, or 50.5 per cent, of injured e-scooter riders were hurt in crashes involving cars.
Almost half of all e-scooter accidents, 49.1 per cent, occurred in cities with populations exceeding 100,000. In collisions involving two parties, police found the e-scooter rider to be primarily responsible in more than half of the cases.
According to Destatis, the high proportion of younger people involved in e-scooter accidents is partly explained by the fact that electric scooters are predominantly used by younger age groups.
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