Slovenian police crack down on e-scooter speeders

Slovenian police will start deploying new kit that measures the maximum speed of e-scooters in order to crack down on those that reach higher speeds than permitted.

In Slovenia e-scooters are not allowed to reach speeds in excess of 25 km/h, but visitors to any Slovenian city will have noticed riders zooming by at much higher speeds, even in pedestrian zones, where they are supposed to keep speeds below 10 km/h, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

Ljubljana traffic wardens have recently caught an e-scooter rider on speed camera going at 90 km/h.

The police have now purchased special devices called dynamometers that allow officers to control whether the scooters comply with statutory speed limits.

"Speed is the biggest risk factor," Ivan Kapun, the head of traffic police at the General Police Directorate, told the press.

Such devices are already used by police forces in Scandinavia and Slovenian police have undergone the required training in advance of deployment.

Electric scooters have exploded in popularity in recent years and some vendors offer buyers to unlock speed limiters. The number of accidents and injuries has been rising accordingly.

Traffic Safety Agency data show the number of accidents involving scooters rising by 12% last year to 268. There were no fatalities last year, but 42 people were badly injured in 2024, up by almost a third over the year before.

The Ljubljana UKC medical centre has seen an even bigger surge injuries involving scooters in recent years. Uroš Tominc, head of the emergency unit, says they admit between 500 and 650 injured people every year.

There has been an increase in serious head and brain injuries, as well as fractured femurs and shinbones in recent years.

There are also many injuries in accidents in which scooter riders hit pedestrians, suggesting e-scooters are riding in pedestrian zones, Tominc said.

More than half of the riders involved in accidents do not use a helmet.