Electric scooters become life-threatening toys in Serbia

An alarming trend of dangerous electric scooter use in Serbia has led to severe injuries, including a recent incident where a five-year-old boy sustained life-threatening head injuries after falling from a scooter. The child was riding with his 12-year-old brother in the Boleč settlement near Belgrade when the accident occurred, underscoring a pattern of multiple traffic law violations.

“

Unfortunately, we witness young users of these vehicles behaving exactly like that on our sidewalks, bike paths, and roads

Official data indicates around 16,000 electric scooters are registered in Serbia, but the actual number on the streets is estimated to be ten times higher. While amendments to the Road Safety Law in 2024 aimed to regulate light electric vehicles, enforcement appears weak. Reports from the Traffic Safety Agency reveal that only about a quarter of riders wear helmets, despite them reducing head injury risk by 44%, and a mere 20% use reflective vests. Critically, only 2.2% of scooter riders adhere to all prescribed rules.

This spring has seen a spate of serious accidents. In May, two 11-year-old boys were severely injured in Čačak after colliding with a car. In April, a 16-year-old girl died and her friend was seriously injured in Novi Pazar when the rider lost control. Last year, a 12-year-old boy in Vranje lost a leg after riding his scooter into an intersection and under a truck.

“

In the past two years, 219 traffic accidents with injuries involving light electric vehicles have been recorded, as well as one fatality

Authorities are increasingly concerned. In Zrenjanin, Mayor Simo Salapura described the situation with electric scooters, electric bikes, and scooters as "alarmingly serious," stating these are "not summer fun for young people." Damir Okanović from the Committee for Traffic Safety reported 219 accidents involving injuries and one fatality related to light electric vehicles in the past two years. He noted a worrying 38% increase in injury-related accidents in 2025 alone. In 2024, the year the law was amended, one person died and 93 were injured nationwide in scooter-related accidents.

“

The number of accidents with injuries has increased by 38 percent during 2025, which is very worrying