Tampere runs Scooter Safety Day with alcohol goggles to curb weekend e-scooter injuries

Young people in Tampere can review e-scooter rules and learn how to avoid injuries at a Scooter Safety Day organized by the City of Tampere.

The event features a rule quiz from Liikenneturva and practical demonstrations, including goggles that simulate alcohol impairment to show how perception and riding change while intoxicated. Organizers remind riders that e-scooters are for people aged 15 and over and must not be handed to younger users. They are also banned if blood alcohol is at least 0.5 per mille or drugs are present; police can perform breath and drug tests and violations may lead to traffic fines. Riders must follow cyclist traffic rules, use the scooter solo, and keep front and rear lights, reflectors and an audible warning device. Helmets are strongly recommended.

Local rules set speed caps for shared rental scooters: typically 20 km/h by day, 15 km/h at night and 10 km/h in the busiest pedestrian zones. Parking in the city centre must be in designated squares or racks. A 2023–2025 review by the Pirkanmaa wellbeing services and the City of Tampere found roughly 250 e-scooter injuries requiring emergency care each year, including about 10 serious head injuries, 15–20 major facial injuries and around 70 serious limb injuries, many affecting young adults on weekends.

The safety day follows earlier measures such as 10 km/h low-speed pedestrian zones and mandatory weekend sobriety tests for rental e-scooters introduced in June, along with increased city-centre police patrols targeting youth alcohol use and e-scooter safety checks rolled out in May.