SUNNIGOO Guides & E-Scooter Reviews

Electric scooters have moved from novelty to everyday transport in European cities, and the electric scooter market has grown just as fast as the rulebooks that govern it. The European Commission's 2026 annual road safety report now gives the clearest picture yet of what that means in human terms, and the numbers deserve attention from every rider and buyer. The report counts 149 people killed in crashes involving e-scooters and similar motorised micromobility devices across EU reporting countries in 2024, up from 41 in 2020, 66 in 2021, 90 in 2022 and 121 in 2023. As reported by Micromobility Industries on 21 October 2026, France recorded the most deaths in 2024 with 45, followed by Germany with 27, Italy with 23 and Spain with 19. Over the same period, total EU road deaths moved the other way, falling 12 percent between 2019 and 2024 to 19,931. Two caveats matter: the Commission's figures cover all motorised micromobility with a top speed of up to 25 km/h, so monowheels and self-balancing unicycles are counted alongside e-scooters, and they do not separate shared vehicles from privately owned ones. Why the Numbers Keep Climbing Part of the rise is statistical. Countries joined the reporting system at different times: Germany began reporting these deaths in 2021, Poland in 2022, Austria, Bulgaria and Sweden in 2023 and Hungary in 2024. But the count has also gone up in countries that reported throughout the period. France went from 7 deaths in 2020 to 45 in 2024, Italy from 1 to 23 and Spain from 8 to 19. Those are not accounting artefacts; they reflect a rapidly growing rider population meeting streets that were not designed for it. Belgium's barometer shows the same pattern Belgium's national road safety barometer, cited in the country's new helmet decree, shows injury crashes involving e-scooter riders rising from 1,735 in 2022 to 2,453 in 2025, with deaths rising from 4 in 2024 to 13 in 2025. The decree also points to crash records from the Antwerp police zone, where privately owned scooters were involved in 66 percent of e-scooter crashes recorded in 2024 and 68 percent in 2025, compared with 9 percent and 13 percent for shared fleet scooters. Private riders, in other words, carry most of the risk, and most of them have never had any formal training. What Actually Reduces Risk The most interesting thing in the 2026 data is not the death toll itself but what governments are doing in response. Since October 1, 2026, every e-scooter rider in Spain must wear an approved helmet, riders must be at least 15, pavements are off limits and a light or reflective item visible from 150 metres is required after dark, under Royal Decree 518/2026. Italy made helmets compulsory and introduced an identification marker in May 2026, followed by mandatory third-party insurance from 16 July. Ireland made helmets and high-visibility clothing compulsory from 4 September, raised planned fines to 100 euros and doubled the fees for detaining and storing seized scooters from 2 October. Belgium took a different path: from 1 September 2026, helmets are required only on devices that can exceed 20 km/h by design, a threshold the decree says reflects studies showing significantly higher head loads in falls above that speed. Speed and venue matter more than wattage Look across these rules and a pattern emerges: regulators care about how fast a machine goes and where it is ridden, not how many watts are printed on the motor. A dual-motor scooter ridden at 25 km/h on a cycle path is a completely different risk object than the same machine at 60 km/h on a cycle path. That is also the logic behind the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's April 2026 micromobility report, which counted 533 deaths between 2017 and 2024 and emergency-department visits rising from 37,300 in 2017 to 149,100 in 2024. The numbers are American, not European, but the lesson travels: the same vehicle changes character completely when it changes venue. Lights, tyres and brakes carry the daily load Between the headline crashes are thousands of smaller incidents caused by wet rails, potholes and poor visibility. That is why Spain now requires lights on at all times, why Ireland's rules emphasise visibility, and why tyre choice matters more than spec sheets suggest. Larger, softer, pneumatic tyres deform around road defects instead of being deflected by them, which is one reason the EU Road Safety Charter highlighted them in its September 2026 guidance. Reliable braking, front and rear, does the rest. Where the SUNNIGOO X7 Fits The SUNNIGOO X7 is built for riders who want one machine that respects this reality. Its dual 1,800 W motors deliver serious capability, with a 48 V 21 Ah battery, a 45 to 60 km range, a 150 kg load rating and 11-inch off-road tyres with front and rear suspension. Its 360-degree light system, covering headlight, turn signals, sidelight strip and taillight, is designed for exactly the visibility rules that Spain and Ireland are now enforcing. Most importantly, the X7 is a dual-mode machine: on EU public roads it should be ridden in its 25 km/h road mode, while higher speeds belong on private land only. Note that the X7 is not ABE type-approved for German public roads, where only the N5 carries that certification, and riders in Spain should stick to the N8, N9 or N9mate family for public-road use. At 669 euros, it is a private-land and dual-mode machine for buyers who understand the venue rules. Conclusion The EU's own statistics now confirm what city streets already showed: e-scooter deaths are rising, and the response is a patchwork of helmets, lights, registration and speed rules. The riders who stay safe, and legal, are the ones who treat speed, venue and visibility as one package rather than three separate topics. FAQs 1. How many e-scooter deaths did the EU record in 2024? The European Commission's 2026 annual road safety report counted 149 deaths involving e-scooters and similar motorised micromobility devices up to 25 km/h across EU reporting countries in 2024, up from 121 in 2023 and 41 in 2020. The figure includes monowheels and self-balancing devices and does not separate shared from private scooters. 2. Which countries had the most e-scooter deaths in 2024? France recorded 45 deaths, Germany 27, Italy 23 and Spain 19. Part of the increase comes from more countries reporting, but France, Italy and Spain all recorded sharp rises even among years when they reported consistently. 3. Which European countries require e-scooter helmets in 2026? Spain requires an approved helmet for every rider since 1 October 2026. Italy requires helmets nationwide. Belgium requires one since 1 September 2026 on devices that can exceed 20 km/h by design, which excludes most shared scooters capped below that speed. Ireland has required helmets and high-visibility clothing since 4 September 2026. 4. Is the SUNNIGOO X7 street legal in Europe? The X7 has a 25 km/h road mode for EU public-road use where permitted by national rules, and its higher speeds are for private land only. It is not ABE type-approved for German public roads, where only the N5 carries that certification, and Spanish riders should use the N8, N9 or N9mate family on public roads. Always check your country's rules before riding. People also ask: US CPSC micromobility report 2026: venue over wattage Puncture season: 11-inch tyre care and replacement for the SUNNIGOO X7 250W EU standard explained: EPAC rules vs e-scooter wattage limits About SUNNIGOOSUNNIGOO is a European brand and manufacturer of electric scooters and e-bikes, with warehouses in Germany, Poland and France, a 2-year warranty on motor and frame, and CE EN 17128 certification across its road-legal range. Our service centre in Messel, Germany supports EU customers directly, and orders ship in 3 to 7 working days. Whether you need a fully road-legal commuter or a dual-mode machine for private land, every SUNNIGOO scooter ships with the documentation that European rules increasingly demand.