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The Urban Guard of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat has seized 502 personal mobility vehicles between January 1 and August 28, 2026, a figure that already exceeds by 47.6% the 340 scooters removed during all of 2025.
The increase coincides with a 11% drop in crimes in the municipality between January and July, while the City Council maintains controls on these vehicles due to their use in snatch-and-grabs and robberies and the risks they pose to road safety.
Four scooters were impounded in the last joint operation on August 28
Four of the seized vehicles were removed on August 28 during the Kanpai Bastió police operation, deployed alongside the Mossos d’Esquadra.
That operation is in addition to the Nimbus operation, which remains active to detect tampered electric scooters and non-compliance with regulations. The dual purpose of the controls is to prevent crimes and to remove vehicles from circulation that cannot be legally operated.
In L’Hospitalet, the impounded vehicles end up in the municipal impound lot until their owners regularize their situation.
If this process is not completed, the scooters are destroyed.
The new rule will set a mandatory helmet and a minimum age of 15 years
On October 1, 2026, the reform of the General Traffic Regulations for personal mobility vehicles will come into effect. The new regulation will set a minimum age of 15 years to ride scooters, will require the use of an approved helmet, and will ban circulation on sidewalks.
Furthermore, to circulate at night, it will be mandatory to wear luminous or reflective elements visible from 150 meters. The requirement to keep the lights on during the day will not come into effect until October 1, 2027.
The maximum authorized speed is 25 kilometers per hour.
It will also remain prohibited to tamper with these vehicles, use a mobile phone or headphones while driving, and drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The City Council linked the controls to other plans against nighttime insecurity
The reinforcement on scooters coexists with other municipal measures against nighttime incidents. The City Council has initially approved limiting the activity of commercial establishments up to 300 square meters between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
That package of actions includes the Nautilus Plan, with which the city has promoted the closure of more than 15 establishments for noise problems and more than 30 drug dens due to insecurity situations.
In parallel, another large-scale operation against violent robberies had already incorporated sanctions related to scooters in Bellvitge, Gornal, and Santa Eulàlia.
The obligation to keep the lighting on even during the day will not be enforceable until October 1, 2027.
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