An e-scooter or bicycle accident: the 2024 rules, insurance and the first week

You were on an e-scooter or a bicycle and a car, a van or another rider hit you. Or you were walking and an e-scooter hit you. This guide sets out what the 2024 regulations changed, why e-scooter riders carry no insurance and what that means for a claim, where cyclists stand, what a helmet does and does not do to a claim, and the first week in order. It does not decide who was at fault.

E-scooters since May 2024

The Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024 made e-scooters legal on Irish roads from 20 May 2024, as a class of "powered personal transporter" under the Road Traffic Act 1961 as amended. The main rules:

A scooter that exceeds the speed or power limit is not an e-scooter under the Regulations; it is an unlicensed, uninsured mechanically propelled vehicle, and riding it on a public road is an offence. That distinction can matter to a claim, because it changes which rules apply to the vehicle that hit you, or that you were riding.

No insurance: what that means

E-scooter riders are not required to carry insurance, and almost none do. For a claim this cuts two ways.

If you were on an e-scooter and a car hit you, the car driver's insurer responds, as it would to a cyclist or a pedestrian. Your lack of insurance is irrelevant to that claim.

If an e-scooter rider hit you, there is usually no motor insurer to claim against. A claim can be made against the rider personally. Some household insurance policies carry public liability cover that may respond to injury the policyholder causes to another person; many exclude mechanically propelled vehicles, and whether a given policy responds depends on its terms. A rider with no cover pays personally, which is a practical limit a solicitor would weigh.

Whether the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland would respond is not settled. The MIBI Agreement 2009 covers injury caused by uninsured or untraced drivers of vehicles that the law requires to be insured, and the Regulations exempt e-scooters from that requirement. The MIBI's published position should be checked, and a claim against the MIBI in an e-scooter case is a question for a solicitor and, if needed, a court. This site says what is settled and leaves the rest as open.

What is settled: a claim for injury caused by an uninsured or untraced car or van driver goes to the MIBI on its Claim Notification Form, the Board's process still applies, and the MIBI expects a Garda report within two days where possible. The MIBI guide sets out the steps.

Cyclists and the driver

A cyclist hit by a motor vehicle claims against the driver, and the driver's insurer responds. The driver's duties under section 106 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 are the same whether they hit a car or a bicycle: stop, give details, report to the Gardaí where no Garda is present. A cyclist is not required to carry insurance and is not a mechanically propelled vehicle, so the MIBI's position for cyclists is the usual one: where the driver who hit you was uninsured or untraced, the MIBI responds.

Where a cyclist hits a pedestrian, the claim is against the cyclist personally, and the same household insurance question arises. The passengers, pedestrians and cyclists guide sets out who the respondent is in each case.

Helmets and contributory negligence

Helmets are not compulsory for cyclists or e-scooter riders in Ireland. Not wearing one is not an offence and does not stop a claim. Under section 34 of the Civil Liability Act 1961, a court can reduce an award where the injured person's own want of care contributed to the injury, and a court may find that the absence of a helmet contributed to a head injury. It is a question of evidence in each case: what the injury was, and whether a helmet would have made a difference to it. The same section applies to lights at night, high-visibility clothing, the use of a cycle lane and the way the rider was riding.

The Board does not decide contributory negligence. It assesses on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable. Where the respondent wants to argue a reduction, it declines the assessment, an Authorisation issues, and the argument is made in court.

The first week

The scene and the Gardaí

Stop, if you can, and exchange names, addresses, registrations and insurers. Section 106 requires the driver to do the same. Report the collision to the Gardaí and note the station, the date and the Garda's name; where anyone is injured, report it even if the driver stayed and gave details. Photograph the vehicles where they stopped, the damage to the bicycle or scooter, the road, the cycle lane, the lights and the weather. The Garda report guide explains the abstract and how to get it.

If the driver drove off, note everything you can about the vehicle and report it at once. The MIBI's two days start from the collision.

The doctor

See a doctor the same day and say how it happened. The record made that day is the first evidence of the injury, and the Board's medical report, the Medical Assessment Form (Form B), is written by the treating doctor or GP. Keep the helmet, the clothing and the damaged bicycle or scooter; do not have them repaired until they have been photographed and, if the damage is disputed, inspected.

Insurers

If you have your own motor policy, or a household policy with legal expenses cover, tell the insurer. The driver's insurer may ring you; say that you will reply in writing and do not give a recorded statement. The insurer guide sets out what to say. Damage to the bicycle or scooter can be settled separately without affecting the injury claim, as the Board's own FAQ says.

The one-month letter and the two years

The section 8 notice is a short letter stating the nature of the wrong alleged. It does not describe your injuries, argue fault or name a figure. Served late without reasonable cause, it lets a court draw inferences and refuse or reduce your costs. The section 8 guide explains it and the letter builder writes it.

The two years run from the collision or the later date of knowledge. A Board application pauses the clock while it is open and for six months after the Authorisation. The time-limit guide explains both.

The Board

Nearly every personal injury claim in Ireland goes first to the Injuries Resolution Board (still searched as PIAB; see the glossary). Section 12 of the 2003 Act means a claim cannot go to court until the Board has dealt with it or issued an Authorisation. That applies whether the respondent is an insured driver, an uninsured one through the MIBI, or an e-scooter rider with no insurer at all.

The application is the Board's online form (€45 online, €90 by post), the medical report on Form B and proof of identity. The respondent has 90 days to consent to an assessment. The Board then assesses on the documents, on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable, and must do so within nine months of consent. The lead Board guide walks through each step. The Board's median award in motor cases from July to December 2025 was €12,850, which is the middle of every motor award with expenses included and not a figure for any injury; the figures page carries it with its date.

Injuries in these collisions are often to the wrist, the shoulder, the knee or the head, and the Personal Injuries Guidelines have a section for each. The head, shoulder, wrist, knee and ankle guide sets out the Guidelines' brackets for an injury described like yours, and the injury checker shows the Guidelines' own wording.

What not to do

Do not sign a settlement or a discharge before the injury has settled. Do not post about the collision on social media. Do not describe the injury as more, or less, than it is; section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires a court to dismiss a claim that is false or misleading in a material respect. And do not assume that because the rider or driver has no insurance there is nothing to be done: the claim exists, and the question is only who pays.

Where this leaves you

You have the order of things: the Gardaí, the driver's or rider's details, the doctor, the photographs, the one-month letter, the two years, the Board, and the open question about the MIBI where an e-scooter was the vehicle at fault. The first-week checklist prints these steps for a road collision, with the sources beside them.