Dr Andrew Hobbins-King rides an e-scooter at Sunshine Coast University Hospital
Sunshine Coast Health is calling on the community to e-scoot safely, with new data revealing the high number of e-scooter related emergency presentations.
Data collected by the Sunshine Coast Health Trauma Service, revealed over a 12-month period between January 2023 and January 2024, there were 118 presentations (which amounts to one every three days) to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital Emergency Department related to e-scooters incidents.
Sunshine Coast Health Medical Director of Trauma Service Dr Andrew Hobbins-King said the largest cohort of e-scooter incidents belonged to adolescents, and in many cases – their injuries were significant.
“The data shows a large paediatric cohort of patients under the age of 18 contributing to 56.8% of presentations, and the vast majority of overall presentations were male amounting to 72.9%,” Dr Hobbins-King said.
“Injuries also seem to vary between presentations; however, the majority of patients did have significant injuries, with 61% of patients having at least one fractured bone. Injuries varied from mild abrasions and lacerations to fractures, collapsed lungs, and brain bleeds.”
Sunshine Coast Health Executive Director of Medical Services Dr Marlene Pearce said many of these e-scooter incidents could have been avoided.
“What is concerning is only half of those patients were reportedly wearing a helmet at the time of the incident,” Dr Pearce said.
“Speed also seems to be a factor in e-scooter related injuries, with our data revealing almost half of patients who ended up in our emergency department were speeding.
“We are currently seeing around one e-scooter related injury presentation to SCUH’s emergency department every three days, and many of these could be avoided or minimised by taking safety precautions,” Dr Pearce said.
The Queensland Government’s Rules for personal mobility devices website safety tips include:
- Not using a phone while riding
- Using a light and high visibility jacket at night to increase visibility
- Obeying road rules and speed limits (which is 25km/hr on the road and 12 km/hr on footpaths)
- Not riding under the influence of alcohol
For more tips on how to be ‘Scoot Smart’, visit Sunshine Coast Health on Facebook or the Queensland Government website.