Poland mandates helmets for cyclists and e-scooter riders under 16, with fines for parents

What the new rules require

A package of amendments to Poland's Road Traffic Law entered into force on Wednesday, 3 June 2026. The central provision obliges every cyclist, electric scooter rider and user of a personal transport device (UTO) who is under 16 years old to wear a protective helmet while riding. The mandate also covers electric skateboards and monocycles. The government says the changes are designed to improve the safety of children and adolescents and to reduce the number of serious head injuries in road incidents.

This change is necessary. Many European Union countries already have such a statutory obligation. In France and Austria it applies up to age 12, and among our Czech neighbours up to age 18.

Enforcement and penalties

The amendment inserts a provision into the Petty Offences Code making the adult responsible for the child's care or supervision liable for allowing a minor to ride without the required helmet. Police can issue a fine of up to 100 zł. Commissioner Antoni Rzeczkowski of the National Police Headquarters' Road Traffic Bureau stressed that responsibility for compliance rests with adults.

A helmet is one of the most important protective elements that can save health, and even life.

Rules for transporting young children

The law also introduces detailed regulations for carrying children on bicycles and in bicycle trailers. Children up to the age of 7 may be transported on a bicycle or e-bike only if they wear a helmet that meets the relevant technical standards and are seated on an additional saddle or in a child seat that ensures safe travel. Exceptions apply when the child is carried in a safety seat with factory-fitted seat belts, on a bicycle designed for passenger transport whose construction makes helmet use impossible, or in a trailer equipped with factory seat belts.

The accident data behind the decision

Statistics from the Road Traffic Safety Observatory at the Motor Transport Institute (ITS) show a sharp rise in incidents involving children. In 2024 alone, the number of accidents involving children on e-scooters jumped 84 percent year-on-year. Nationwide e-scooter accidents climbed from 543 in 2022 to 1,158 in 2025, while fatalities rose from 3 to 11 and serious injuries from 162 to 358 over the same period.

In 2025, Poland recorded 384 accidents involving cyclists under 17, including 12 fatalities, and 538 accidents involving e-scooter users, with 5 deaths and 203 serious injuries. In the Łódź region alone, 465 accidents involving cyclists or e-scooter riders occurred last year, with half of the single-track vehicle users being under 17.

Medical and expert perspectives

International research cited in the law's explanatory memorandum indicates that head injuries occur in 18–41 percent of e-scooter victims, 20–24 percent of cyclist victims, and 35 percent of e-bike victims. Additionally, 30–60 percent of e-scooter victims sustain facial injuries. ITS studies show that helmet use by cyclists reduces the risk of fatal head injury by over 70 percent, and by over 40 percent for e-scooter users.

The American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that cycling is among the recreational activities significantly associated with head injuries in children, and head injuries are particularly important clinically because they determine the severity and prognosis of many accidents.

Professor Kuchar, a paediatrician and sports medicine specialist at the Medical University of Warsaw, noted that a child is not a "small adult" — children have different body proportions, poorer motor coordination, less experience in road traffic and a weaker ability to anticipate consequences. Paramedic Adam Stępka added that a single-track rider travelling at 20–30 km/h can suffer an intracranial haemorrhage in a crash, most often resulting in death at the scene.

Public opinion and the legislative path

The ESRA3 survey shows that nearly half of Poles support mandatory helmets for all cyclists, and support reaches 80 percent when it concerns children. The obligation was recommended unanimously by ministers and experts at a National Road Safety Council meeting on 14 July 2025. Parliament passed the amendment in December 2025 and the president signed it into law. The rules apply on public roads, cycle paths, parks, local and access roads managed by municipalities, traffic zones and residential zones.