Lisbon, Oct. 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Compulsory wearing of helmets by riders of electric scooters and bicycles has been approved at the first reading and vote in the Portuguese parliament and will now proceed to committee stage, after a PSD bill was passed by a majority.
The PSD bill, which was unveiled in May, provides for the compulsory wearing of helmets by «drivers and passengers of motorised bicycles», that is, electric bicycles, as well as for «riders of electric scooters and self-balancing, self-propelled vehicles powered by an electric motor», and for riders of «other similar motorised vehicles, including electric unicycles and self-balancing electric platforms, when treated as motorised bicycles».
In addition to making the wearing of helmets compulsory for users of electric scooters and electric bicycles, the PSD's draft bill also stipulates that users of these vehicles «must wear reflective clothing or retro-reflective equipment from dusk until dawn and whenever, due to weather or environmental conditions, visibility is insufficient».
«The minimum specifications for the reflective clothing or retro-reflective equipment referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be defined by an order issued by the Government minister responsible for mobility, following a proposal from the Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT)», states the current wording of the legislative proposal, which is yet to be debated in detail by the Committee on Infrastructure, Mobility and Housing.
Fines of between €60 and €300 are set for riders of scooters or similar vehicles who fail to wear a helmet, and fines of between €30 and €150 for riders of electric bicycles; fines of between €30 and €150 also apply for failure to wear reflective clothing or retro-reflective equipment in both cases.
The bill was approved with votes in favour from the PSD, Chega, PS, IL, CDS-PP, PCP, BE and JPP; an abstention from the PAN; and a vote against from Livre, with the party's co-spokesperson, Isabel Mendes Lopes, submitting an explanation of vote, as did the PAN's sole MP, Inês de Sousa Real.
Another PS bill, which merely made the wearing of a helmet compulsory for electric scooters and modified electric bicycles, without requiring the use of reflective equipment, was also approved with no votes against, with abstentions from the PAN and Chega, and explanations of vote from Isabel Mendes Lopes and Inês de Sousa Real.
A draft resolution (which has no force of law) tabled by the PS was also passed (with votes in favour from the PSD, PS, L, BE, PAN and JPP; abstentions from Chega, CDS and PCP; and a vote against from the IL). This resolution recommends that the Government step up enforcement of regulations governing the use of scooters, electric bicycles and similar vehicles on pavements, the regulation of speed limiters for these vehicles, and the study of a pilot scheme for disposable helmets.
Meanwhile, a draft resolution by PAN concerning financial assistance for the purchase of helmets, their distribution to children and young people, and the promotion of access to and awareness of their use was rejected, with votes against from the PSD, CH, IL and CDS-PP, an abstention from the PCP, and votes in favour from the PS, L, BE and JPP.
During the debate on the proposal in plenary, PSD MP Bruno Faria emphasised that, with regard to scooters, he had warned that «the number of accidents had risen from 25 per year up to 2021 to over 700 in 2024», and «over the last seven years, more than 1,900 accidents have been recorded, with 10 fatalities and dozens of serious injuries», arguing that safety equipment, by reducing «the consequences of a fall», could «save the lives of users».
Chega MP Nuno Gabriel warned that it is necessary to «clarify how national regulations will be coordinated with municipal powers and instruments», given that «the needs for enforcement and the organisation of micromobility are not necessarily the same in Lisbon, Porto or any other region».
Speaking on behalf of the PS, Frederico Francisco emphasised that Portuguese cities «remain crowded and dominated by cars», advocating for a redistribution of public space, with «more room for other modes of transport to move about safely», whilst also warning that, in the case of shared schemes such as Lisbon's Gira, they may lose occasional users if helmets become compulsory.
Miguel Rangel, from the IL, stressed that «it is unacceptable to continue seeing scooters riding on the pavement, putting the safety of the riders themselves and of those who get about on foot at risk», adding that it «makes no sense to look at a scooter without having the faintest idea whether it will stay on the road, stop at the traffic lights or not, or ride up onto the pavement next».
Jorge Pinto, co-spokesperson for Livre, emphasised that the debate should focus on the design, organisation and speed limits in cities, advocating «looking to good examples» such as the Netherlands, where helmets are not compulsory but there are fewer accidents and casualties because «there is a culture of education that begins from a very young age, because cities have been adapted, and because there are dedicated lanes for this use».
As for the PCP, Paula Santos rejected «a battle between factions of road users» and highlighted the «central aspect» of the business model of micro-mobility companies, which bear «little or no responsibility» for road safety and operate «within a framework of liberalisation and appropriation by economic powers, not only of these services but also of the very use of public space».
João Almeida, of the CDS-PP, focused on the need to «carry out serious, specialist work with a single objective that must take precedence: people's safety», stressing that «there is no mode of transport that can travel indiscriminately on both pavements and public roads without having to comply with the rules applicable to one or the other».
For Inês de Sousa Real, the sole MP for the PAN, there is also the issue of «the safety of cycle lanes and shared lanes, which unfortunately is not a reality in many cities», and Filipe Sousa, the sole MP for the JPP, said that «freedom of movement cannot mean an absence of rules», calling for «safe cycle paths, adequate parking and a genuine separation between pedestrians, cars and micro-mobility vehicles».
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