Court cancels fine for riding an electric scooter without a helmet

The Kovel City District Court of the Volyn region overturned the patrol police’s decision to fine the driver of an electric scooter for riding without a motorcycle helmet. The court concluded that a light electric scooter does not fall under the category of mopeds, and therefore the requirement for mandatory use of a helmet does not apply in this case.

What was the driver fined for

The incident occurred in April 2026 in Kovel. A man was fined 510 hryvnias for driving an OKAI ES400A rental electric scooter without a motorcycle helmet. The police considered the vehicle a moped and cited a violation of the Traffic Rules.

However, the plaintiff noted that the electric scooter has an engine with a power of less than 1 kW, does not require state registration, a driver’s license or license plates, and therefore cannot be equated to a moped.

What the court found

The court analyzed the norms of the Road Traffic Rules and indicated that a motor vehicle is considered a vehicle with an engine capacity of more than 3 kW. The plaintiff’s electric scooter had a nominal power of only 350 W and a maximum speed of up to 25 km/h.

The decision emphasizes: the obligation to wear a fastened motorcycle helmet is directly established only for drivers of motorcycles and mopeds. The current legislation does not contain such a requirement for users of electric scooters.

The court pointed out gaps in the legislation

The court also noted that the rules for using electric scooters in Ukraine have not yet been properly regulated. There are no mandatory registration, insurance, age restrictions, or requirements for a driver’s license for such vehicles.

As a result, the court canceled the police resolution, closed the administrative offense case, and ordered the Patrol Police Department to compensate the plaintiff for the court fee.