Under 18? Your e-scooter is now off limits on public roads

CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS under the age of 18 are now banned from using e-scooters in public places, as new restrictions aimed at tackling serious injuries and dangerous use come into effect.

The ban came into force today, four weeks after separate rules made helmets and high-visibility clothing compulsory for people using e-scooters.

It is the latest tightening of Ireland’s laws around the vehicles following growing concern over injuries, particularly among children.

However, the new rules have prompted calls for further action around the registration of e-scooters and the ability of gardaí to enforce the law.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney told RTÉ’s News at One today that 793 prosecutions relating to e-scooters have been taken so far this year, while 1,412 e-scooters have been detained.

Canney said the government is also preparing legislation which would change the legal definition of an e-scooter to a mechanically propelled vehicle, meaning scooters would have to be registered.

“If we got the registration in place, it would mean that there is an owner, there is a responsibility, and then we can actually tackle it more seriously,” Canney said.

He also urged parents to recognise that “an e-scooter is not a toy”.

Under the rules now in force, riders must be at least 18, wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing and obey a maximum speed limit of 20km/h.

E-scooters cannot be used on footpaths and carrying passengers is prohibited.

The minimum age had previously been 16.

‘Not a silver bullet’

Social Democrats transport spokesperson Aidan Farrelly welcomed efforts to improve safety but said today’s legislation “should not be trumpeted as a silver bullet”.

He said there remained problems around garda resources and training to pursue people who fail to stop while using e-scooters.

The party has called for all e-scooters to be registered, as well as for it to become a criminal offence to sell or supply one to a child under 16.

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Farrelly also proposed a scheme allowing families who had previously bought e-scooters for children to surrender them in exchange for pedal bikes.

The Garda Representative Association also welcomed the new law today but raised concerns over enforcement.

GRA vice-president John Joe O’Connell said there was currently no requirement for e-scooter users to carry identification, making determining whether someone is under 18 more difficult.

He also said gardaí currently cannot issue fixed-charge notices for the new offences through their roadside mobility devices and must instead process them afterwards.

Dublin Lord Mayor Daryl Barron welcomed the age restriction as an “important step” towards ensuring e-scooters are used safely.

“E-scooters have the potential to play a valuable role in helping people travel around our city in a sustainable and convenient way,” Barron said.

“However, as with all forms of transport, safety must come first.”

Barron said the new rules would help protect young people, pedestrians and other road users and urged e-scooter users to familiarise themselves with the regulations.

The changes come amid stark warnings from Children’s Health Ireland over the number of young people suffering serious injuries in e-scooter crashes.

In July, CHI said e-scooters had become the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among children admitted under the Neurosurgery and Rehabilitation Services at Temple Street, accounting for more than one-third of traumatic brain injury admissions in 2026.

Admissions for e-scooter-related traumatic brain injuries had increased by 50% in the space of a year.

Of 30 children admitted with such injuries between May 2024 and June this year, all had suffered intracranial bleeding, 97% had skull fractures and more than half required emergency neurosurgery.

Just one of the 30 had been wearing a helmet.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Irwin Gill warned at the time that some children were being left with “life-changing brain injuries” which could result in permanent disabilities.

“Preventing these injuries must be a public health priority,” Gill said.