No Helmet on the Ebike and Therefore Less Compensation in an Accident in Future?

“We have 80 to 90 per cent of respondents with pedelecs who say: Yes, I know I should wear a helmet. That’s good, that’s important. But I don’t want to wear a helmet because of my hairstyle. Should the person who is injured then receive 100 per cent of the money from the opposing party?” With this question and, above all, with his answer, Prof. Dr. Ansgar Staudinger, President of the German Council on Jurisdiction in Traffic, has put the mandatory wearing of helmets for cyclists back on the general agenda. In his reasoning, he refers to the case of an ebike rider.

1. Revise liability regulations for accidents involving ebikes?
2. Reject changes, including mandatory helmet use
3. Wearing a bicycle helmet on an ebike – more agreement than action

1. Revise liability regulations for accidents involving ebikes?

Every January, traffic experts from across Germany meet at the German Council on Jurisdiction in Traffic in Goslar to debate local road traffic legislation. This year, one topic attracted considerable attention, even though it was not the subject of any of the usual working groups during the meeting. In his speech at the opening of the Council on Jurisdiction in Traffic Staudinger addressed the issue of liability for ebike riders who are injured in a road traffic accident but are not wearing a bicycle helmet.

The professor of civil law, private international law, procedural law and commercial law at Bielefeld University referred to a case from Austria. In March 2026, the Supreme Court (OGH) heard the following case: A man on an ebike was hit by a car at a petrol station. He suffered various injuries. However, the accident victim only received compensation for pain and suffering for injuries that were not related to wearing a helmet. According to the OGH, the man was partly to blame for all other injuries he suffered. His decision not to wear a bicycle helmet was ‘carelessness in his own affairs’, according to Norddeutscher Rundfunk, quoting the ruling from our neighbouring country. In a report, the German Press Agency adds that it would now be virtually common knowledge that, firstly, accidents are more frequent when riding an ebike and, secondly, it would be generally known how important it is to wear a bicycle helmet when cycling.

According to Staudinger, who has been president of the German Traffic Court Conference since 2019 and is familiar with the subject matter in this capacity, the Supreme Court’s decision to reduce the compensation for pain and suffering was apparently understandable. So understandable, in fact, that he suggested a similar approach be taken in Germany. Here, too, the question of liability should take into account whether cyclists were wearing helmets or not in the event of an accident. After all, various studies prove that most people living in Germany are aware of the advantages of wearing a helmet.

2. Reject changes, including mandatory helmet use

In both Austria and Germany, there is currently no mandatory helmet use for cyclists in road traffic – regardless of whether they are riding an ebike or a regular bike. And that’s how it should stay. At least, that is what the Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club e. V. (ADFC) is calling for. Its federal managing director, Dr Caroline Lodemann, is strongly in favour of maintaining the current legal framework. ‘We do not agree with the postponement of liability issues. When it comes to bicycle helmets, the Federal Ministry of Transport and experts are deliberately relying on voluntary compliance. Therefore, not wearing a helmet should not have any consequences in terms of liability law.’

She received support from the ADFC’s regional association in Lower Saxony. The regional chairman there, Rüdiger Henze, told Norddeutscher Rundfunk that wearing a bicycle helmet is definitely recommended. Nevertheless, responsibility for such accidents cannot be shifted onto the more vulnerable road users.

Lodemann and Henze both emphasise that a helmet alone is not decisive for the safety of cyclists. Instead, they call for a better-developed cycling infrastructure with cycle paths designed for ebikes and pedelecs. In addition, safe intersections and appropriate traffic speeds could prevent accidents in the long term.

3. Wearing a bicycle helmet on an ebike – more agreement than action

In principle, people in Germany support the wearing of bicycle helmets when cycling. In a 2021 survey, the TÜV Association found that a large majority of 71 percent were in favour of this measure. The older the respondents were, the higher their approval rating – across both genders surveyed. When asked specifically about riding an ebike, approval rose to over 80 per cent.

In everyday life, however, the picture is somewhat different. As the TÜV Association found out, only 49 per cent of cyclists in Germany always or usually wear a helmet when they get on their bikes.

The reference by Council on Jurisdiction in Traffic President Staudinger to the high accident figures for ebike riders in Germany is somewhat justified. In its accident statistics for 2023, the German Federal Statistical Office reports 72,200 accidents involving personal injury in which a regular bicycle was involved. The figure for ebikes was 23,900 – significantly lower. At the same time, however, according to the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV), there were around 73 million bicycles without electric assistance on Germany’s roads in 2023. This compares to just around 11 million ebikes. In relative terms, this equates to one bicycle accident per 1,011 regular bicycles and one bicycle accident per 460 ebikes.

Pictures: Abus August Bremicker Söhne KG; German Council on Jurisdiction in Traffic – German Academy for Traffic Science – e. V.; Elektrofahrrad24; Pressedienst Fahrrad