Complaints regarding dangerous e-scooter driving behaviour are on the rise
03-11-2025
Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan has said her offices are receiving a marked increase in the number of people calling for greater levels of garda enforcement regarding the dangerous use of e-scooters on the footpaths and roads of the county’s main urban areas.
Deputy Nolan said the most recent representation she received was from a constituent in Edenderry who was lucky to escape serious injury from a group of mainly teenage youths who were operating their e-scooters at speed on the towns footpaths while also swerving through traffic:
“There are very few people now, I would say, who have not witnessed some kind of reckless driving behaviour by people on e-scooters. It is a growing anti-social menace. A lot of the time the same people who are using their scooters on our footpaths are doing so way above the legal speed limit of 20 km/h while also being way under the legal operating age of 16,” said Deputy Nolan.
“We also know from recent research conducted by doctors at the National Maxillofacial Unit at St James’s Hospital, Dublin, that alcohol or some other substance had been consumed by those operating an e-scooter. As I understand it this led to a related injury rate of 36% which is way up from the 18% injury rate that the Unit saw prior to the change in legislation governing e-scooter use in 2024. It is also reported that the use of helmets by patients with facial injuries fell from 23% to 18% over the same period.”
“Clearly something is not working here.”
“I know our gardaí are under-resourced and under-staffed, but we really need to try and get a grip on this scourge before someone is killed or seriously injured. Greater enforcement and mandatory safety training are key here. I would also say that the penalties for non-compliance should be severe.”
“I have written to both the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Justice to see what measures we can take to improve the effectiveness of the Road Traffic Acts and the statutory instruments that govern the use of e-scooters.”
“We simply cannot allow this scourge to continue growing. People have a right to walk the footpaths of our towns and villages without the fear of an e-scooter smashing in to them,” concluded Deputy Nolan.