E-scooter crashes rise, prosecutors seek action

E-scooter crashes have left people dead or seriously injured, and Spain’s public prosecutors are calling for stronger action. The demand is set out in the prosecution service’s 2025 annual report, cited in a Madrid dispatch dated 13 September 2026. It covers personal mobility vehicles, the category that includes e-scooters.

Prosecutors say riders are especially exposed when sharing roads with motor vehicles. They also warn that the vehicles can endanger pedestrians. Criminal proceedings and charges have been brought in several cases involving careless offences, including crashes with fatalities or serious injuries.

Pavements, phones and extra passengers

In some cities, authorities are also handling a high number of administrative reports against e-scooter and other personal mobility vehicle users. Riding on the pavement is the most frequent alleged breach.

Other common cases involve carrying two or more people on one vehicle, using a mobile phone while riding, or wearing headphones or earphones. Prosecutors also say some areas struggle to obtain reliable expert assessments of whether certain vehicles are genuinely personal mobility vehicles or are in fact mopeds or even motorcycles.

Drug cases climb as testing rises

Prosecutors are seeking preventive and educational policies alongside penalties after what they describe as a progressive and alarming increase in drug-related cases involving drivers since 2023. They say the trend may point to alcohol use shifting towards other substances.

Authorities handled 60,492 administrative drug cases in 2025. Drug tests reached 144,900, up by 22,000 on the previous year, an increase of 18%. Cases over refusing alcohol or drug tests fell by 25%.

Charges and convictions for speeding also dipped, by 5% and 2% respectively. Even so, the number of speeding convictions was the second highest in the series.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com