Teenage boys driving e-scooters drove a pointy rise in hospitalisations over the past 5 years, in keeping with a report from the Australian Institute of Well being and Welfare (AIHW).
The variety of boys aged 12 to fifteen hospitalised following e-scooter falls noticed a 15-fold enhance between 2019/20 and 2024/25.
Boys in that cohort had been 4 occasions extra probably than ladies to finish up in hospital due to an e-scooter fall.
It additionally discovered hospitalisation charges elevated for e-bike riders, however these knowledge had been more durable to seize due to how these accidents had been categorized.
The report discovered e-scooter-related deaths elevated over the past decade from seven in 2014/15 to twenty in 2024/25; nonetheless, the proportion of deaths was secure.
New codes launched in July this 12 months will assist higher differentiate between e-mobility units resembling e-scooters and e-bikes, the report stated.
AIHW spokesperson Jacqueline Rek stated the improved knowledge will assist higher perceive the dangers surrounding e-mobility units.
“That means these findings shouldn’t be interpreted as exact counts of accidents involving e-scooters or e-bikes alone,” Ms Rek stated.
“This report supplies the primary nationwide view on this subject, whereas additionally highlighting the place extra knowledge is required.“
What can enhance security?
E-bikes and e-scooters at the moment are mainstream, with nearly 1 million privately owned by Queenslanders, in keeping with College of Queensland analysis.
Richard J Buning, who labored on the analysis, stated enhancing security was essential given the expansion.
“Each single 12 months over the past 5 years, the expansion in e-mobility system purchases has risen by 30 per cent,” he stated.
Dr Buning stated unsafe units resembling over-powered e-bikes had been amongst his chief considerations.
Final 12 months, the federal authorities launched stronger e-bike import requirements much like these within the European Union (EU), limiting entry to unsafe units.
“It is these unsafe, uncompliant, unlawful units which might be creating a lot of the issues of individuals driving actually quick on high-powered units,” Dr Buning stated.
“However the secure, compliant units, they do not present extra energy than only a regular typical common match particular person can present.”
Dr Buning highlighted Queensland as one jurisdiction within the nation main e-mobility system regulation.
Folks driving e-bikes within the state have to be 16 or older and maintain a sound driver’s licence, together with a learner licence.
Youngsters aged between 12 and 17 (the place 16- and 17-year-olds don’t maintain a driver’s licence) will solely have the ability to journey an e-bike or e-scooter with parental supervision.
Dr Buning disagreed with licensing e-bikes however praised the state’s e-bike assurance scheme, which adopted EU laws.
It’s going to imply from March 2027, all e-bikes within the state will need to have a compliance label to journey in public.
“So stopping these issues from being offered and ensuring that the general public is aware of in the event that they purchase considered one of these units which might be uncompliant, they can not legally journey it on the highway,” he stated.
Dr Buning additionally instructed extra focused initiatives to higher educate those that are driving unsafely, which was largely youthful individuals.
“Ideally we will get into colleges and train them learn how to journey a tool safely. That is in all probability going to take out the vast majority of the problematic behaviour,”
he stated.
“As a result of the overwhelming majority of those who use e-bikes are literally a lot older, 70 per cent of e-mobility system customers are over the age of 40.
“That extremely seen behaviour could also be obscuring public notion of an general fairly inclusive and sustainable transport mode.”