Electric scooter riders caught breaking the law in Cyprus are being reported but allowed to keep their devices, because a decree giving police the power to seize them has yet to take effect, traffic police told Phileleftheros on Friday.
The gap comes as videos on social media show minors riding along main roads in Nicosia in groups of dozens, doing repeated wheelies and riding at night without reflective markings.
“The offender is reported and then allowed to continue using personal mobility devices,” said Inspector Tasos Ashikkis of the Traffic Department at police headquarters. Police can stop riders and issue out-of-court fines or other reports, he said, but cannot yet seize their scooters.
Police are waiting for the decree to be issued once it has been legally vetted and approved by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Ashikkis said.
The grounds for seizure include “use by children under 17, riding in places where it is not permitted, and the use of devices that can reach, or do reach, speeds above 25 kilometres per hour”, he said. Riders exceeding 10 kilometres per hour in squares or pedestrian streets designated for scooter use could also have their devices seized.
The conditions for returning seized scooters will be set out in the decree and announced after its publication, traffic police said.
What the videos show
One video found by Phileleftheros opens with 17 scooters parked on the Aglantzia bridge near the University of Cyprus. It then shows a rider revving a scooter so the wheel spins and smoke rises around it.
On Aglantzia Avenue, a group of young riders travel side by side across both lanes, several of them lifting their front wheels. A night-time clip shows a rider with no reflective markings and no lights, barely visible in the dark. On Makarios Avenue, a rider on the back wheel moves between cars and motorcyclists before continuing in the bus lane.
A separate video shows dozens of young riders in the middle of the narrow streets of old Nicosia as vehicles try to get past.
Fines and casualties
Of 7,635 out-of-court fines, 2,423 were for riding in places where scooters are not allowed, 1,951 for not wearing a suitable helmet and 1,419 for not wearing suitable reflective markings, Ashikkis said.
Two fatal incidents involved riders aged 24 and 26. Five serious injuries were recorded between January and August 2026, two of them involving people under 18.
Where scooters are allowed
Scooters may be ridden on roads with a posted speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour, on cycle paths and cycle lanes, and in properly signposted shared spaces that extend a cycle path, traffic police said. They are banned from roads with limits of 50 kilometres per hour or more.
Riding in squares and pedestrian streets requires a decision by the local municipality or community, with a top speed of 10 kilometres per hour. No such decision had been published by the time traffic police replied to Phileleftheros.
Parents’ liability
“Parents, persons exercising parental responsibility and device owners must take the necessary measures to prevent the use of scooters by children under 17,” traffic police said. Failing to do so is an offence punishable on conviction by a fine of up to 1,000 euros, up to three months in prison, or both.
Riders whose behaviour amounts to careless, reckless or dangerous driving, such as doing wheelies, or who commit certain lane offences, face the same penalties as motorists, Asiikkis said.
Riding in a group is not in itself an offence, traffic police said. Although there is no specific ban on riding side by side, riders may still commit offences such as driving too slowly or obstructing traffic.
