ÖAMTC Survey: Clear Majority for Mandatory Helmets for E-Bikes and E-Scooters

For this purpose, 1,000 people aged 15 to 69 were surveyed - with a clear result: 84 percent are in favor of a helmet requirement for e-bikes, and 85 percent for e-scooters. "A clear vote in favor of a helmet requirement and thus for traffic safety - even in cities, where helmets are currently most often neglected, 80 percent or more are in favor of a helmet requirement. Even those affected, i.e., e-bike and e-scooter riders themselves, vote 75 and over 60 percent respectively for the mandatory wearing of head protection," emphasizes Bernhard Wiesinger, head of the ÖAMTC advocacy group. "In view of this broad approval on the one hand and rapidly increasing accident numbers on the other, the question arises as to why politics is hesitating here."

Austrians Are Clearly in Favor of a Helmet Requirement

The ÖAMTC survey thus supports the current demand of the mobility club for improvements in the draft of the 36th amendment to the Road Traffic Act (StVO). Currently, the proposal only foresees a helmet requirement for e-bikers up to 14 years and e-scooter riders up to 16 years - an approach that, according to the ÖAMTC, misses the reality, as the vast majority of those injured are significantly older. "Politics should understand this broad approval as a mandate to adapt the regulations to the actual accident situation," Wiesinger continues. "A general helmet requirement for e-scooter riders and a general helmet requirement without penalty for e-bikers would be a sensible step towards more safety in road traffic."

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