Barcelona issues more than 10,000 fines for riding electric scooters without a helmet

BarcelonaExactly one year ago, the new law came into effect in Barcelona. traffic ordinanceOne of the main changes brought about by the amended ordinance affected electric scooter riders, who have been required to wear helmets since February 1, 2025. According to the City Council, in the eleven months of 2025 that the new regulations were in effect, 10,164 fines were issued for not wearing a helmet. That's an average of almost 1,000 fines per month. These fines meant that, overall, the number of penalties imposed on personal mobility vehicle riders in 2025 increased by 34.7% compared to the previous year. In total, the City Police issued 20,902 citations for electric scooter violations. Of these, half were for riding without a helmet, 2,096 for running a red light, and 1,169 for riding while wearing headphones. In these last two cases, however, the figures have decreased by around 30% compared to the previous year. These are some of the figures presented this Monday by the First Deputy Mayor and Head of Mobility, Laia Bonet; the Deputy Mayor for Security, Albert Batlle; and the Chief Superintendent of Traffic for the Barcelona Municipal Police, Ricardo Salas, at the presentation of the traffic accident report for the Catalan capital last year. The year ended with 11 people killed in traffic accidents—the same number as in 2014—and 8,566 injured, a 0.99% increase. Of these, 8,320 suffered minor injuries (a 0.97% increase) and 246 serious injuries (a 1.65% increase). Of the eleven fatalities, five were pedestrians, five were motorcyclists, and one was a cyclist. Regarding vulnerable groups, serious injuries decreased slightly, from 225 in 2014 to 221 last year (-1.78%). First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet stated that the data shows a scenario of "containment" and highlighted the figures for vulnerable groups in particular. Both Bonet and Deputy Mayor for Security Albert Batlle attributed the decrease in incidents affecting pedestrians, cyclists, and users of personal mobility vehicles to the implementation of the new traffic ordinance.

Black spots

Regarding accident blackspots—15-meter stretches that recorded ten or more accidents with injuries over a twelve-month period—the 2025 ranking was topped by the intersection of Gran Via and Selva de Mar Street, with 18 accidents. Following behind were the intersections of Passeig de Gràcia and Aragó (16 incidents), and Gran Via and Cerdeña (14). As is usually the case, Gran Via, along with the Aragó street, most of the city's accident black spots.