E-scooter carnage as eight people are rushed to hospital overnight as the festive season kicks into gear
Eight people, including a teenage girl, have been rushed to hospital following a shocking night of e-bike and e-scooter accidents in Queensland.
Among those injured on Monday was a man in his 20s, who was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital with an arm injury after an incident with an e-scooter and a car in Ashgrove at 6.20pm.
A girl in her teens suffered head and neck injuries less than 30 minutes later after an incident on an e-scooter at Queentown.
A man in his 40s was transported to hospital for treatment on his hand after an incident at Capella, while another man in his 20s suffered an arm injury after an incident in Woodridge.
A teenage boy was taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition with facial and head injuries after a crash in Cairns around 10.38pm.
Less than 20 minutes later, a man in his 20s with arm and leg pain was taken to Hervey Bay Hospital following another e-scooter crash.
A teenage boy with facial and head injuries was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital after an e-bike crash at Bli Bli about 1.54am.
Earlier this month, 11 people were rushed to Queensland hospitals overnight following a series of e-scooter and e-bike incidents in the lead-up to the festive season.
Queensland is the deadliest state for e-scooter deaths in children
According to new research from the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU), five people are hospitalised daily in Queensland due to e-scooter crashes.
QISU found one-third of all e-scooter deaths in Australia are children under the age of 16. Nearly half of these fatalities occur in Queensland.
Despite the stark figures, Queensland’s state government is refusing to bow to pressure to introduce tougher measures ahead of summer, when e-bike and e-scooter use is expected to soar.
‘The former Labor Government failed to tackle dangerous and illegal e-bikes and scooters throughout their decade of decline, and left police woefully ill-equipped to enforce regulations,’ Queensland’s Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Brent Mickelberg, told the Daily Mail.
‘Unlike the former Labor Government, we will not commit to a knee-jerk response.
‘While our parliamentary inquiry is considering all the evidence so we can get the regulation and legislation right, we have launched a state-wide crackdown on illegal devices through Queensland Police.’
The parliamentary inquiry report into the use of personal e-mobility devices is due to be handed down in March.
Across Australia, at least 14 people have died as a result of an e-bike or e-scooter incident in the last year, including several children.
An e-bike is loaded onto a truck at the scene of a fatal accident in Sydney CBD this month
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli (left) and Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg (right) have refused to introduce tougher safety measures ahead of summer
The NSW Government is considering lowering the speed limits for e-bikes ‘within months’, and will review the definition of an e-bike to prevent motorcycle-style devices being sold as bicycles.
NSW Premier Chris Minns made the announcement on the same morning an e-bike rider was killed in a tragic collision with a garbage truck in Sydney’s CBD.
The man aged in his 30s died at the scene in front of horrified passers-by on their way to work near a major transport interchange on December 2.
Minns also wants to halve the maximum power of e-bikes from 500 watts to 250, which only allows the vehicles to travel up to 30km/hour.
The restrictions would bring NSW into line with other Australian states.
‘It underlines the point – these [bikes] can be very dangerous,’ Minns told 2GB.
‘Young kids that are using them, we want to make sure that people are safe, particularly during the holiday period.’
