1 week ago
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The road safety blitz follows Queensland's emergency departments have recording increased rates of e-scooter accidents over the past three years.
Operation Ride Safe will see highway patrol officers “conducting patrols and enforcement activities” across Townsville – a northeastern city in Queensland – as well as rider safety education.
“These are not toys and all road users need to be aware that they could seriously injure or even kill themselves, or another person if they’re speeding, not wearing a helmet, drunk or drug driving, or using a phone,” Inspector Damian Crosby said in a media statement.
Townsville police said officers have been dispatched to 21 separate e-scooter-related road accidents – two of which resulted in fatalities – so far in 2024, with the state of Queensland recording a significant increase in e-scooter accidents over the past three years.
According to the Queensland Government agency, the state's emergency departments reported 691 and 1018 e-scooter-related accidents in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Authorities expect this rate to increase in 2024, with 558 e-scooter-related injuries – gathered from approximately 30 Queensland hospitals – recorded to the end of May 2024. For context, the 2024 data could surpass the 1273 total recorded in Queensland last year.
Under the new legislation, e-scooter riders would be allowed to ride at speeds up to 25km/h on roads, bike lanes, and “separated paths”, while a maximum speed limit of 15km/h on footpaths was proposed.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
