Helmets to be made compulsory for all electric scooter riders on every road in Malaga

Safety helmets will be mandatory for all electric scooter riders on all roads in Malaga under a new regulation being introduced in the city.

Councillor Trinidad Hernández said city hall was left with no option but to make helmets compulsory following an increase in scooter-related accidents throughout the city.

But scooter rental operators are outraged by the move and claim it will be "the final straw" in an ongoing battle that has lasted several months. "If the use of helmets is made compulsory we are all going to leave," said a spokesperson for a group of operators, who also described the situation as unsustainable adding that many are already considering stopping offering their services here "Malaga has not adapted to what we have asked for: they have not provided more parking spaces for scooters and nothing has been done about the tender. The latter is blocked by several court cases."

Comparative aggravation

The same source claimed there is a comparative disadvantage: "The accident rate on electric scooters is not higher than on bicycles, and helmets are not compulsory on bicycles, so this means of transport is discriminated against". They also added that Spain's national Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT) "recommends but does not oblige" helmets.

"To make matters worse, we found out about it in the press, when we have been asking the council's mobility department for months for meetings and they have never told us about this possibility," the source added.

The spokesperson said that if helmets were made compulsory, it would only be viable if a single rental company took over the concession, adding that some operators are already losing money and the extra cost of the problem with helmet thefts would be "the straw that breaks the camel's back".