Electric scooters have become a „huge problem" - with those words Interior Minister Pance Toškovski announced radical measures, including possible registration, age limits and bans. And the „Safe City" system, he claims, is already saving lives.

The figure he presented is concrete: from January to May 2026, 39 people died in traffic accidents, against 56 in the same period last year - a reduction of 17 lives. „All these cases stem from breaking traffic rules," Toškovski said, crediting the drop to stepped-up controls and cameras.

Part of the system already recognizes foreign licence plates. Toškovski announced that vehicles with foreign plates will soon be fined too - results are expected in about a month. The question is why this did not work earlier, when foreign offenders drove for years as if the rules did not apply to them.

On scooters, the minister said he had consulted several ambassadors about European experiences and announced legal changes. „This calls for a radical solution regarding bans, age limits for operating, and perhaps registration," he said, without specifying concrete penalties or procedures.

And here is the usual Balkan order of things - first the problem grows to „huge", then and only then does anyone start thinking about rules. Scooters have been on the sidewalks for years, among pedestrians and children. That they are now a „safety challenge" is no discovery - the only discovery is how late institutions react to something every citizen saw long ago.