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Dubai teen calls for tighter e-scooter rules after losing friend in tragic accident
Abdullah lost his childhood friend to an e-scooter accident in Al Nahda in February
- PUBLISHED: Wed 30 Jul 2025, 6:00 AM UPDATED: Wed 30 Jul 2025, 7:08 PM
A Dubai teenager is calling for tighter rules for e-scooter users in the country as he continues to grapple with the loss of one of his closest friends. Fifteen-year-old Abdullah has been actively campaigning to ensure that everyone around him wears protective gear when using the motorised vehicle.
"Every time I see any of my schoolmates or family members getting on an e-scooter without buckling their helmet or wearing a proper reflective jacket, I stop them,” he said. “A lot of students in our school use e-scooters, and many of them don’t follow the rules. I try to reach out to as many people as possible, but I think there should be tighter rules and stricter enforcement to prevent any further accidents."
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It was in February this year that Abdullah lost his childhood friend to a tragic e-scooter accident in Al Nahda. "I still cannot bring myself to talk about her,” he said. “I cannot believe that she is gone and that I will never be able to share anything with her. She was a close childhood friend."
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Extremely dangerous
Abdullah, who lives in Al Nahda, drives an e-scooter to and from school every day. “I ride it to the metro near my school and then from the metro to my house daily,” he said. “Earlier, I was quite relax about safety measures. It is only since the accident that I have begun noticing how dangerously people use the vehicle. I have seen so many near-misses where people ride the scooters in extremely dangerous manner."
In April this year, authorities in Dubai announced the launch of a specialised Personal Mobility Monitoring Unit to monitor violations by cyclists and e-scooter riders. The popularity of e-scooters has burgeoned with the emirate seeing an eight percent increase in the number of trips undertaken on the vehicle.
There are strict rules governing the use of e-scooters, with offenders facing fines of up to Dh300 for violations like riding on public roads, reckless driving, and failing to wear safety gear. Last week, Dubai Police revealed that they had confiscated a total of 656 scooters in Al Barsha area alone in 2024 due to various traffic law violations committed by the riders.
Despite this, Abdullah said that he had seen people driving dangerously near his house. “I see many people riding it on the public road, sometimes even against traffic,” he said. “The e-scooters are a great mode of transport but there needs to be a clampdown on those who misuse it and put themselves and others at risk.”
