Greece to ban children from e-scooters after accidents

Greece will toughen rules on electric stand-up scooters this week, a minister said on Monday after recurring accidents mainly involving youths sparked calls for action.

"Scooters for kids... are now going to be banned under a bill that will be voted on tomorrow," deputy transport minister Giorgos Kotsiras told Skai TV.

Kotsiras said the bill provisions would include a ban on users under the age of 17, increased fines for unsafe riding and compulsory accident insurance.

"Based on statistics, we had seen that among our fellow citizens under the age of 17 there are increased rates of accidents," Kotsiras said.

According to the federation of Greek hospital workers, some 400 children and teenagers were hurt in e-scooter accidents last year, many of them fatally.

Agence France-Presse