Germany's parliament is set to pass legislation making rental e-scooter operators such as Lime and Bolt legally liable for accidents caused by their vehicles, putting them on a similar footing to cars. The change matters because victims currently have to prove that an individual rider was at fault to claim compensation — a difficult standard given that riders are often hard to identify, and even harder when scooters are left dangerously on pavements. Under the new law, victims will be able to seek compensation directly from the rental firms, while riders will also share liability for any "presumed fault" in collisions.

The government pointed to a sharp rise in e-scooter accidents, with casualties more than doubling from 5,535 in 2021 to nearly 12,000 in 2024, about 4% of all traffic accidents involving injuries. In 2024, 27 people died — all of them riders — around 1,500 were seriously hurt and roughly 11,400 suffered minor injuries, while the number of non-riders struck rose to about 5,000 in 2023 from 1,150 in 2020. Consumer advocates and 67% of voters in a YouGov poll backed the measures, though the Shared Mobility industry group warned of a possible surge in fraudulent claims and lawsuits. E-scooters have been legal on German roads since 2019 for riders aged 14 and over, and separate rules from next year will require turn indicators and higher fines for carrying passengers.