The Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, has passed a law obliging electric scooter rental companies to provide helmets to all customers from January 2026.
Following the adoption of amendments to the Road Safety Act, companies providing scooters and other electric micro-mobility vehicles for rent will be obliged to provide their riders with helmets, regardless of age, road conditions and vehicle power.
People riding their own scooters will also have to wear helmets.
The amendment was passed with a vote of 58 favour, 18 against, and 12 abstentions.
Liberal MP Andrius Bagdonas, who argued against the bill, said the law would ruin a well-established business.
“It seems to me that this bill is not about security at all,” the MP said.
Meanwhile, social democrat Kęstutis Vilkauskas, who supported the bill, said that the amendments are intended to increase the safety of riders.
“We have to think about the health and life of micro-mobility users. I think that this law will bring benefits and maybe there will be fewer painful incidents that we have now,” the MP stressed.
Benas Jurlovas, head of Bolt’s sharing services in Lithuania, told BNS last week that the company would implement the new requirement should the parliament pass the law, but the process could take up to a year.
According to the Agency for Transport Excellence, 58 scooter riders were injured last year in Lithuania, four of whom were wearing helmets.
In 2024, police fined 1,019 scooter riders with penalties raging between 20 and 40 euros for not wearing helmets.
According to Julius Sabatauskas, a Social Democrat MP and chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs, there have been several deaths of scooter riders since 2020.
Under the current law, helmets are obligatory for electric scooter riders under 18, while older riders must wear one when riding on the street besides cars. Otherwise, helmets are recommended.
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