Valencia’s Policía Local (the city police) issued 3,091 fines to electric scooter riders over 250 days of patrols on the city’s bike lanes, an average of 12.4 a day, according to figures from the Ayuntamiento de Valencia (Valencia City Council) reported by 20minutos Valencia. The most common offences were about paperwork: scooters not registered with the national vehicle register and riders without liability insurance.
What happened
The checks took place on Valencia’s carriles bici (bike lanes), which electric scooters also use. In the first ten months of this year, the council says, accidents involving electric scooters fell by 16.7%. It credits a mix of prevention and inspections for the drop.
Electric scooters count as a VMP (vehículo de movilidad personal, or personal mobility vehicle). Most of the fines were for breaking the administrative and technical rules that the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT, Spain’s national traffic authority) sets for these vehicles. 20minutos Valencia gives this breakdown:
- 755 for not registering the VMP in the Registro Nacional de Vehículos (National Vehicle Register)
- 281 for riding without seguro de responsabilidad civil (third-party liability insurance)
- 275 for not meeting the required technical specifications or conditions
- 38 for not having an identification label or the required certificates
These four groups add up to 1,349 fines, or 43.6% of the total. Jesús Carbonell, the councillor for Mobility and Safety, said the figures show “systematic control” of the approval and insurance requirements for these vehicles.
Riskier behaviour also led to fines. There were 407 fines (13.2%) for riding after taking drugs or alcohol, or for refusing to be tested. Of these, 301 were for drugs and 98 for alcohol levels above the legal limit. Riding without a helmet led to 309 fines (10%). Distraction led to 361 (11.7%): 323 for wearing headphones or earphones and 38 for using a mobile phone or a similar device. Radar caught 40 riders speeding (1.3%). There were also 117 fines for riding without documents and 107 for going through a red light (3.5%).
Of all the fines, 2,071 (67.0%) were recorded under offences that name the electric scooter specifically, either on its own or together with bicycles, because the two vehicles share many rules. The rest were recorded under general offences that apply to this type of vehicle.
The accident figures also improved. According to the council, there were 810 accidents involving electric scooters in the first ten months of this year, compared with 972 in 2025. Nobody died in a crash involving a VMP over this period. In the same period of 2025, three people did. Scooter accidents made up 10.7% of all recorded accidents this year, down from 13.3% in 2025.
What it means for you
If you ride an electric scooter in Valencia, the police are checking your paperwork as well as how you ride. The registration and technical requirements come from the DGT, so they apply across Spain, while the patrols reported here are run by Valencia’s own Policía Local. Based on the offences listed in the source, check the following:
- Your scooter is registered in the Registro Nacional de Vehículos.
- You have third-party liability insurance in place.
- The scooter meets the technical conditions and carries its identification label and certificates.
- You carry your documents when you ride.
On the road, the fines show that police are looking for riders without helmets, riders wearing headphones or using a phone, riders going through red lights and riders going too fast. They are also testing for drugs and alcohol, and refusing a test is an offence in its own right. 20minutos Valencia does not give the amounts of the fines.
Pedestrians and cyclists also benefit. Carbonell said the fall in accidents involving scooters, pedestrians and bicycles is positive and shows that preventive road safety measures should continue, to protect “the most vulnerable” road users: pedestrians, cyclists and VMP riders.
What to watch next
20minutos Valencia also reports that the city will limit groups of tourists travelling by bicycle or scooter to 10 people. The article does not say when this limit starts or how it will be enforced. The council’s comments suggest the bike lane patrols will continue, so riders should expect more checks.
Source: 20minutos Valencia
Sources
- 20minutos Valencia: Valencia pone 12 multas al día por el uso indebido de los patinetes eléctricos en la calle, accessed 10 November 2026
Valencia, for internationals
One email a week: what changed for internationals in Valencia, the week's news from es, and one guide worth reading. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
Comments 2