The National Republican Guard (GNR) has recorded a total of 406 accidents involving electric scooters in the Algarve since 2019, resulting in two fatalities, both in 2023. This comes as some municipalities are clamping down on the usage of the low-cost vehicle.
Statistical data released by the GNR indicate “an increase in accidents linked to micromobility”, with a significant rise in 2023, when 547 incidents were registered, peaking in 2024 with 706 cases. “Although there was a slight decrease between 2024 and 2025, the figures remain worrying,” the security force said in a statement issued last week.
A breakdown by district shows that Aveiro and Faro record the highest number of accidents and casualties (both serious and minor injuries).
In the Algarve, the GNR registered the following number of accidents in recent years: 3 in 2019, 2 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 113 in 2023, 149 in 2024, 94 in 2025 and 20 in 2026. As one might expect, unreported incidents involving uninsured vehicles are not included in these figures.
Over the same seven-year period, and in addition to the two deaths, the force reports 13 serious injuries and 285 minor injuries across the region.
In the past, the GNR has warned about the growing number of accidents involving electric scooters on public roads, stressing that “awareness-raising and compliance with safety rules remain critical challenges.”
According to the force, the main causes behind the trend include riding in inappropriate areas (such as pavements), disregarding traffic signs, and failing to use safety and protective equipment.
In response, the GNR has been carrying out targeted enforcement operations aimed at scooter users, while also promoting awareness campaigns encouraging defensive riding and safer behaviour for all road users.
The GNR also reminds the public that “for circulation purposes, electric scooters are legally treated as bicycles”, meaning riders must comply with the rules set out in the Portuguese Highway Code.
Within this framework, the force recommends wearing a helmet, using reflective clothing and lights on the vehicle (white at the front and red at the rear), riding on cycle paths or on the carriageway, adopting defensive riding practices, and ensuring that e-scooters are used by only one person at a time. It also notes that scooter riders are subject to the same alcohol limits as car drivers.
This report comes as just last week Portimão City Council installed new signage in pedestrian areas of the city of Portimão and the village of Alvor, indicating that bicycles and electric scooters are prohibited in pedestrian-only zones.
According to the local authority, the aim is “to reinforce pedestrian safety and ensure the proper use of these public spaces.”
“The signs now installed indicate the prohibition of bicycles and scooters in areas reserved exclusively for pedestrians, reinforcing existing traffic rules and complementing the signage currently in force,” the council added.
The municipality said that in recent months these modes of transport have increasingly been used in pedestrian areas, often at high speeds, creating unsafe situations for people walking.
Some of these locations are also part of the town’s accessible routes network, designed to ensure safe and comfortable mobility for all residents and visitors, including people with reduced mobility, elderly citizens and families with children.
In Alvor, specifically, the new signage will be placed at the entrances to the boardwalk, warning users of the rules that apply along the route.
Source: GNR
