In short:
The number of reported e-scooter presentations at Queensland’s emergency departments increased from 691 in 2021 to 1,273 in 2023.
Since late 2018, fractures have been the most common e-scooter injury at emergency departments, followed by open wounds, then sprains or strains.
What’s next?
The state government is working on the introduction of random breath testing for riders and is exploring whether bigger e-scooters are safer to use than smaller devices.
The number of reported patients turning up to Queensland emergency departments after being injured in e-scooter mishaps has almost doubled within two years.
It comes amid ongoing work from the state government to introduce random breath testing for riders, as it also explores whether bigger e-scooters are safer to use than smaller devices.
The latest figures compiled by the Jamieson Trauma Institute have revealed there were 1,273 e-scooter-related presentations reported within the state’s emergency departments in 2023.
This was up 25 per cent from the 1,018 presentations recorded in 2022, and an 84 per cent jump from the 691 presentations that were logged in 2021.
By the end of May this year, emergency departments had already recorded another 558 e-scooter incidents – putting them on track to surpass the number of presentations last year.
The Jamieson Trauma Institute compiles data on e-scooter related presentations that have been reported at about 30 emergency departments through the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU).
But not all hospitals report their e-scooter presentations to the QISU, including some major facilities, such as the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Logan Hospital, and the QEII Jubilee Hospital.
Fractures are the most common injury
In total, 4,233 e-scooter emergency department presentations have been reported since November 2018, with males making up 62 per cent of patients.
The most common place to sustain an injury was the head, with 604 wounds, followed by the face, with 420 wounds.
Fractures were the most common injury among e-scooter related emergency department patients, with 1,324 fractures recorded since late 2018.
The second most common type of injury was superficial wounds, followed by open wounds, sprains or strains, and then intracranial injuries, which includes concussions.
Children aged 15 and under made up 545 of the presentations for e-scooter related incidents, but the median age for all patients was 27.
Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) manager of road rules and emerging technology Nick Mackay said it was predominantly riders, rather than bystanders, who were getting injured in e-scooter incidents.
“The really tragic thing that we hate to see is that in a lot of cases those riders aren’t following the rules,” he said.
“We’re seeing riders who don’t have a helmet on, or they have a helmet on but they haven’t bothered to buckle it up.
“They’re not following the speed limits. These are avoidable crashes, avoidable injuries.”
Random breath testing for e-scooter riders
In 2022, the state government brought in new e-scooter rules aimed at boosting rider safety, including new tiered speeding fine categories and tougher penalties.
Mr Mackay indicated the government had further work to do to improve e-scooter safety.
“What we’re looking at is whether or not longer scooters in particular are safer,” he said.
“The biggest thing that you get when you have a slightly longer scooter is you get larger wheels.
“What we’re seeing through those injury stats is that lots of the crashes are really small front wheels in particular hitting a little bump and crack and the rider goes straight over the handlebars.”
Mr Mackay also flagged a potential crackdown on drunk riders, with authorities exploring how they could introduce police-led random breath testing for e-scooter users.
“It’s already illegal to be drunk on an e-scooter … but at the moment police can’t undertake a random breath test. And that’s something that we want to work on,” he said.
Mr Mackay suggested the government had not seen any evidence that shared e-scooters were more risky than privately owned e-scooters.
E-scooter companies say safety is top priority
The two shared e-scooter companies that currently operate within Brisbane are Beam and Neuron.
In a statement, a Beam spokesperson said safety was at the forefront of its operations.
“We are confident in the safety of our e-mobility operations, with less than one trip out of every 100,000 Beam trips in Queensland resulting in a reported hospitalisation,” they said.
“Whilst the proportion of trips resulting in an injury is quite low, we’re doing all we can to reduce this number to zero.
“As riders become more familiar with Beam’s e-scooters and e-bikes, and our education and enforcement methods, we are seeing a reduction in the rate of incidents on Beam’s shared e-scooters.”
A Neuron spokesperson also said safety was its top priority.
“We have a robust education program focused on ensuring our riders know the rules,” they said.
“Since launching in Brisbane in mid-2021, Neuron e-scooters have become an important part of city’s transport mix.
“The overwhelming majority of people ride responsibly, with over 99.99 per cent of trips ending safely and without incident.”
Professor Narelle Haworth from QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland said the number of e-scooters in the community had increased, and the proportion of private to shared e-scooters had changed.
“When we did our first observations a few months after the scheme was introduced, there were eight times as many shared [e-scooters] as there were private,” she said.
“The latest observations show, depending on where you are, there are more private than shared.
“When we do measurements out around Brisbane, what we find is that the private e-scooter riders are wearing their helmets as much as bicycle riders are.”
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