ieExplains: New e-scooter rules come into effect — what riders need to know

Calls for the regulation of e-scooters reached a crescendo over the summer following an increasing rise in road accidents involving e-scooters. Picture: Nick Potts/PA

After a long summer of Government deliberations over how to police e-scooters, the first wave of a planned series of legislation has come into effect on Friday.

What are the new rules?

As of Friday, September 4, it is now an offence to ride an e-scooter without wearing a helmet and a high-visibility item of clothing.

E-scooter users deemed to be non-compliant with the new rules can be issued a fixed-charge penalty of €100.

Minister for road safety Seán Canney said the new measures would “strengthen safety standards and support effective enforcement, while ensuring that the benefits of e-scooters can be realised without compromising public safety”.

What’s next?

The fines for not wearing high-vis or helmets are the first of many measures intended to tighten e-scooter regulation.

On October 2, fees for detention and storage of seized e-scooters are also set to be doubled, rising to €80 for detention and the first day of storage and €30 for each additional day of storage.

More significant measures that will increase the legal age of e-scooter users from 16 to 18 are in the pipeline. Those measures will not be introduced immediately, as the Attorney General has advised that the proposed changes will have to go to the EU Commission for approval.

Transport minister Darragh O’Brien said he hopes that the new age limits will be in place by the end of 2026.

Mr Canney has also pushed for e-scooters to be classified as mechanically propelled vehicles, which would require users to register their vehicles, hold a licence and have insurance.

Why are the changes happening?

Calls for the regulation of e-scooters reached a crescendo over the summer following a rise in road accidents involving e-scooters.

E-scooter accidents represented more than one third of all paediatric traumatic brain injury admissions to CHI at Temple Street in 2026. Admissions for traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter accidents increased by 50% in a 12-month window.

Road Safety Authority chief executive Alice Coleman said the RSA was “gravely concerned about the high number of traumatic brain injuries amongst children using e-scooters” and that it represents a “serious emerging public health concern.” 

Can the regulations be enforced?

Some gardaí say that new legislation will remain unenforceable without a fundamental alteration of their ability to engage in pursuits against offenders.

Pádraig Harrington, Cork’s representative on the Garda Representative Association, previously told the Irish Examiner he believed new legislation would make "zero difference" without the appropriate powers to enforce.

“They're giving us the legislation, but they're not giving us the tools to implement it," said Detective Harrington, who is attached to Bridewell Garda Station.

“If you’ve youngsters, juveniles, and they're not wearing helmets, they're not wearing a high-vis; They're going to continue doing that because the vast majority of them know that the guards are unlikely to chase,” he said.

“The vast majority of guards don't want to chase them because they know that if they knock them off, if the young fella comes off and he gets injured, that they'll face an investigation where they’ll face prosecution.”

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan now plans to introduce pursuit training for gardaí following a fatal crash on the M9 involving five young people who were engaging in wrong-way driving.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today programme, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said enforcement will be “very important”, but regulations on helmets and hi-vis will help create a safer environment.

“The use of helmets and hi-vis from today is a very important safety measure that has broad support amongst the public,” he said. “Many, many people use e-scooters appropriately, and they'll obey the rules.” 

Mr O’Brien said the raising of the minimum age will erase any grey areas in current legislation.

“Where the laws are clarified and made very clear, it means that if someone's not wearing a helmet or a hi-vis tomorrow, and if a guard sees that, they're breaking the law. Simple as.”