Spain to mandate electric scooter insurance this year

Mandatory e-scooter insurance nears as prosecutors demand it

Some urban commutes now make sense only with an e-scooter. A rider of a mid-range model covers 24 kilometers daily — commuting to work, ten of them on bike lanes — in fifteen minutes each way, thanks to a device that cost him €525 on sale. The fine print appears when that same vehicle hits a pedestrian and there is no policy to cover damages. Mandatory insurance for electric scooters is getting closer, not just because the DGT (Spanish Traffic Authority) demands it.

What does current law require of e-scooters?

The latest reform of the Law on Road Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation and Road Safety focused on safe e-scooter use. Riders must wear a helmet, cannot ride on sidewalks or fast roads — motorways and expressways are prohibited — and minors face a 0.0 blood alcohol limit. The rule exists; the problem is it was written too late.

In January 2022, the DGT confirmed that e-scooters will have to meet new technical requirements starting in 2024 and will be assigned an identification plate. This is the first step in control that has so far relied on goodwill. And goodwill, with 285,000 units sold in 2021, is scarce.

Why prosecutors demand mandatory insurance

The final push comes from courts, not traffic. The General Prosecutor's Office has positioned itself in favor of requiring insurance for e-scooter riders. In its latest report, it argues these vehicles, besides being vulnerable against larger ones, can be "active subjects of negligent homicide and injury crimes" when they hit pedestrians.

Riding without insurance, the body adds, "constitutes serious irresponsibility" leaving potential victims "in open abandonment." The Prosecutor's Office demands a legal framework "clear, well-structured and territorially harmonized." Translated: today there is nothing, and whoever gets hit waits in vain.

Victim associations like Asociación DIA and cycling figures such as former cyclist Eduardo Chozas join this chorus, summarizing it thus: a cyclist can run someone over and cause harm, "and that must be repaired." The DGT already included the idea in its Strategic Plan for Road Safety 2030 and notes on its website that uninsured riders respond with their own assets.

When and how will mandatory e-scooter insurance be implemented?

According to information published on June 12, 2022, the DGT will implement mandatory insurance for e-scooters that same year and does not rule out extending helmet requirements. Traffic authorities want to "protect the most vulnerable" with their new road safety plan and will consult municipalities on issues like minimum age and other restrictions. In short: the calendar exists, the policy does not yet.

The precedent nobody wants to remember: mopeds

Mopeds were regulated two decades ago because they were modified: they ran like 80cc and 125cc motorcycles with brakes that couldn't stop at those speeds. Regulation ended their popularity. The current reading is that e-scooters await the same path: helmet, registration, AM license, insurance, and the same penalties as a moped. When all that is required, the gadget stops being a toy and becomes an expense.

How fast do e-scooters really go and what is the limit?

The legal limit in Spain is 25 km/h. Device power matters less than braking capacity: some models theoretically reach 45 km/h but come factory-capped, though the limit can be disabled via display. Real range also falls below brochure claims: a €700 model promises 45 kilometers but delivers 27-28 in sport mode and 30-35 at a relaxed pace.

Some argue an e-scooter at 25 km/h is already dangerous under normal conditions and should simply be banned on roads; opposing this is the argument that it is a last-mile vehicle, very useful for short trips. What nobody disputes is physics: at 25 km/h, a collision causes harm.

Insurance, confiscation, or neither

With the diagnosis approved, debate opens on solutions. One stream defends civil liability insurance: for €40 a year — the circulating reference — having a policy is obvious. Another responds that obligation is useless precisely against those who ignore it: uninsured riders without assets bypass it anyway, and victims end up in court with lawyers and agents.

The harshest scenario proposes what truly hurts: instant confiscation of the e-scooter and, on third offense, more than a fine. A third, more ideological path denies the premise: any new insurance is a disguised tax setting precedent for bikes and other mobility forms, applauded by part of the public.

The uncomfortable detail is that accident rates keep rising. In 2018, over 200 e-scooter collisions were recorded. In 2021, alone in Barcelona, 246 collisions involved e-scooters or cyclists. With 300,000 units expected for 2022, mandatory insurance is not a future hypothesis: it is a pending account someone will have to pay.