Key facts
- Germany is enacting legislation to make rental e-scooter operators directly liable for accidents.
- The law aims to simplify compensation for victims by holding companies responsible for damage caused by their vehicles.
- Riders will be presumed at fault for collisions unless they can prove otherwise.
- The legislation specifically targets accidents caused by improperly parked e-scooters.
- E-scooter accident casualties in Germany have more than doubled since 2021, with nearly 12,000 in 2024.
- Victims will be able to claim compensation directly from rental companies.
Germany is moving to close a legal loophole that has left e-scooter accident victims unable to claim compensation by making rental companies such as Lime and Bolt directly liable for accidents involving their vehicles. The bill would also cover accidents caused by scooters left blocking pavements. Under the new rules, operators face strict liability as owners regardless of fault, while riders will be presumed at fault unless they can prove otherwise. The German government argues that the current rules no longer reflect the rapid growth of e-scooters on German streets. The number of insured e-scooters increased more than fivefold, from 180,000 in 2020 to 990,000 in 2023, according to the German Insurance Association. Third-party damage claims rose from 1,150 in 2020 to 5,000 in 2024. Rental scooters represented around one-fifth of insured e-scooters in 2023 but accounted for roughly 40% of those claims, according to the German Insurance Association. Beyond collisions and pavement obstructions, authorities have also warned that the lithium-ion batteries used in e-scooters can cause serious fires when damaged, faulty or charged incorrectly. Safety and public-space concerns have led several European cities to remove shared e-scooters.