E-scooter riders targeted by police in Townsville road operation
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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.
Townsville police have launched a new road safety operation aimed at "Personal Mobility Devices" (PMDs) like e-scooters.
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.
As previously reported by Drive in July 2024, data from the Jamieson Trauma Institute, revealed that e-scooter-related accidents increased by 84 per cent between 2021 and 2022, and a further 25 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
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.
This news comes as various other Australian cities like Melbourne have cracked down on the use of e-scooters, with Victoria's capital city banning them on CBD roads in September 2024.
However, other states like South Australia have doubled down on prioritising alternative modes of transport like e-scooters for residents, with the South Australian Government previously proposing laws that allow privately owned electric scooters to be ridden on public roads.
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.
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