E-scooter riders in Spain now need a helmet, insurance and a spot on the official register, yet nobody checks whether they can actually ride their vehicle properly or handle the traffic on the road. A Málaga surgeon who operates on riders after the worst crashes thinks that gap needs closing.

A surgeon wants riders tested like other road users 

Rafael López Arévalo, head of orthopaedic surgery and traumatology at Hospital Quirónsalud Málaga, believes e-scooter riders should have to pass a test comparable to the ones other road users face before they head out among cars, buses and vans.

His case is built on what he’s seeing in theatre. He estimates that 30 to 40 per cent of the e-scooter accident patients his team treats end up needing surgery, with some of the more complex fractures potentially affecting their ability to work further down the line.

That’s an estimate for the patients who reach his team, though, and not a figure for every scooter crash in Málaga. Earlier University of Málaga research found bruising was by far the most common injury among scooter patients seen in emergency departments. 

Riders are sharing the road with cars

Since January 2021, e-scooters have been banned from pavements across Spain and capped at 25km/h, which moved riders off the pavement and onto the road alongside motor traffic. López Arévalo’s argument is about whether riders really understand what that involves. Plenty of people hop on with the attitude of ‘it’s only a scooter, how hard can it be?’, and a test is designed to challenge exactly that assumption. 

For parents whose teenagers ride to school, commuters weaving through the city and residents stepping off the kerb as a scooter comes the other way, it’s a question that comes up every single day.

What the university research did and didn’t find 

The University of Málaga (UMA) study behind EWN’s August coverage analysed more than 400 patients treated in emergency departments between 2018 and 2022, and it also looked at what changed once scooters moved onto the road.

Pedestrians being knocked down fell from 10.9 per cent of cases to 5.2 per cent, while collisions with motor vehicles rose from 8.8 per cent to 18 per cent. However, the researchers said in their January release that they hadn’t seen any increase in the overall severity of injuries, despite those extra collisions.

So the research doesn’t show that moving riders onto the road made injuries worse. The surgeon’s estimate is a separate observation, based on the patients his own team is treating now.

Helmets are compulsory, but there’s still no test 

Since Thursday October 1, riders across Spain have had to wear a certified helmet, with fines of around €200 for those who don’t. The scooter itself must also be registered with the DGT (Spain’s traffic authority) and insured. However, there’s still no test or licence needed to ride one. 

Until that changes, riders’ best protection is the helmet and the 25km/h limit they’re already bound by. UMA’s researchers go a step further and recommend full-face helmets, as so many of the fractures they recorded were to the face and jaw.

A lorry carrying mortar grenades and other explosives from the Fábrica de Municiones de Granada lost part of its load in the middle of a public main road on Tuesday afternoon, forcing a full road closure and the evacuation of nearby homes, according to local press.

Residents in the El Fargue area of Granada woke up to a tense scene after the vehicle, travelling between two sites belonging to the same company, suffered an internal load shift, indicating that the load might not have been well tied down. According to local reports, the movement was so strong it ripped open the side of the truck and scattered rounds of mortar shells across the carriageway. Guardia Civil officers ordered people living within a 100-metre radius to leave their properties while specialists worked to make the area safe.

📢⚫️Especial precaución en Granada por el corte de la A-4002 en el entorno de El Fargue.

⚠️Eviten circular por la zona y sigan las indicaciones de los servicios de emergencia. https://t.co/DQ6y8OZI26

— Dir. Gral. Tráfico (@DGTes) October 13, 2026

Bomb disposal teams and emergency crews on the scene

TEDAX explosive ordnance disposal experts (bomb disposal), Guardia Civil, National Police, local police and firefighters all responded quickly. Andalucia’s emergency service activated the pre-emergency phase of the plan for accidents involving dangerous goods, a standard step when munitions or explosives are involved on public roads. No injuries were reported, and officials later said the rapid arrival of the bomb squad meant there was never any real danger to the public.

Police later suggested the incident was probably caused by the load not being properly secured. The company itself confirmed it had been a short internal transfer between its own facilities rather than a long-distance export run, and said it had opened its own investigation. Traffic on the A-4002 was restored later the same afternoon once the rounds had been cleared.

Why this factory is important for Spain’s defence industry

The plant in El Fargue is one of Europe’s oldest continuous ammunition producers, with roots going back centuries. Since 2020 it has been owned by Slovak firm MSM Group, part of the larger Czech Czechoslovak Group (CSG). Demand for large-calibre shells, propellants and mortar rounds has risen sharply because of the war in Ukraine and wider European rearmament, and the factory has expanded its workforce and output to meet contracts. You can read more background on the Fábrica de Municiones de Granada.

Much of what leaves the site ends up with European and NATO customers. Some of the group’s production is also linked, either directly or through the parent company, to supplies that support Ukraine. Spain’s overall military support to Ukraine has included both government donations (such as Leopard tanks and air-defence equipment) and commercial sales of ammunition. Estimates put cumulative Spanish military aid in the region of several billion euros since 2022, with ammunition forming a large share of the commercial side. Euro Weekly News has previously covered Spain’s Leopard tank deliveries and a €615 million military aid package. Earlier reporting also noted Ukrainian criticism that some early Spanish shipments were only enough for two hours of fighting, while other flights carried large-calibre ammunition. Commercial ammunition exports, including from plants like this one, have been substantial — one analysis tracked around 140,000 155 mm shells in a relatively short period.

Rules for moving this kind of cargo

Transporting explosives and ammunition in Spain is tightly controlled under national explosives regulations and the international ADR rules for dangerous goods. Vehicles must meet specific safety standards, specialised “vigilantes de explosivos” security staff are normally required, and journeys need official authorisation, emergency plans and reliable communications with the Guardia Civil. Depending on the quantity and route, an official police escort can also be ordered.

Local moves between a company’s own sites can sometimes operate under lighter escort conditions than long-haul export shipments, but the basic safety rules still apply.

Tuesday’s spill has raised fresh questions among local residents about how such loads are handled on ordinary roads close to homes. The factory has grown into an important industrial site for Granada province, driving a noticeable rise in arms-related exports in recent years. At the same time, any accident involving live munitions on a public highway is bound to draw attention, especially when the material is of a type that has been in high demand for the conflict in Ukraine.

Authorities have not released a detailed public statement beyond the basic facts of the road closure and the activation of the emergency plan. The company’s investigation into the load shift is ongoing. For now, the road is open again and no one was hurt, but the incident has put a spotlight on the practical realities of moving military-grade ammunition through residential areas in southern Spain.

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When you run a business on your own, a quiet month does not mean the bills stop arriving. Rent, supplies, tax paperwork and social security contributions still need paying, even when customers are thin on the ground. For people starting out, those fixed costs can make the difference between getting a business off the ground and deciding it simply is not worth the risk.

Now, Spain’s main self-employed workers’ association wants political parties to consider a package of changes that would cut some of those costs, reduce paperwork and improve protection when business owners become ill or can no longer work.

The National Federation of Associations of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), led by Lorenzo Amor, has sent parties a list of 10 proposals ahead of Spain’s elections on 29 November. The organisation says the changes are needed because 63.2 per cent of self-employed workers earn less than the national minimum wage. 

New autónomos could pay no social security for two years

One of the central proposals is a zero-euro social security contribution for the first two years of self-employment. ATA wants the exemption extended to three years for people under 30, women starting a business after maternity, and workers whose earnings fall below the minimum wage. Students under 30 who run a business while completing formal education or vocational training would pay a proposed €30 a month throughout their course.

For established autónomos earning below the minimum wage, ATA also wants contribution reductions over two years. Depending on income, the proposed discounts would range from 15 to 75 per cent, funded through the state budget. 

VAT exemption for businesses earning under €85,000

Small businesses could also see a change to how they charge and declare VAT. ATA wants workers with annual turnover below €85,000 to be able to opt out of charging VAT to customers, alongside replacing quarterly VAT returns with a single annual declaration.

The proposal would bring Spain closer to the arrangements available to small businesses in several other EU countries. A separate proposal would allow businesses with cross-border transactions to qualify for the VAT scheme up to a turnover of €100,000. ATA is also calling for changes to deductible business expenses, including allowing 50 per cent of certain vehicle, utility and meal costs to be deducted for income tax and VAT purposes without having to justify each expense individually. 

More support during illness, maternity and business closures

The proposals go beyond tax and contributions. ATA wants self-employed workers to have better access to support when their income collapses or they have to close a business.

It proposes easing the conditions for receiving the cessation-of-activity benefit when income falls, and making the benefit automatic in certain permanent closures. It also wants the unemployment subsidy available to people over 52 extended to autónomos who have exhausted their cessation-of-activity payments.

For pregnancy and childcare, the organisation is calling for subsidised cover so a replacement can be hired and trained before a worker takes maternity leave. It also wants two extra weeks of leave for breastfeeding, more flexible maternity leave and greater flexibility for returning to work after the initial period of leave. Self-employed people caring for a seriously ill or disabled family member could also receive a full contribution discount, up from the current 75 per cent, under the plan. 

Changes to contributions and retirement

ATA wants planned increases in self-employed contributions frozen until 2030, with contribution bases set annually through the state budget process. It is also seeking changes to the rules for active retirement, which allows people to keep working while receiving part of their pension.

Under its proposal, autónomos without employees would gradually receive a larger share of their pension while working, reaching 100 per cent in the fourth year. Those with at least one employee, partner or collaborator would be able to receive the full pension from the first day. Other requests include improved pension-plan tax deductions, incentives for hiring younger workers and a simpler route out of debt for people whose businesses fail.

The package also calls for less administrative red tape, including a single online portal for business owners, a first-warning approach to certain mistakes before financial penalties are imposed, and fewer official notifications outside normal working hours.  The proposals would affect costs, tax obligations and social protection for autónomos across Spain. Their impact will depend on which measures, if any, political parties choose to adopt.