Fractures and head injuries: Scooter crashes becoming a 'regular occurrence'

Paramedics are warning people to be safe when using electric scooters in Brisbane, with riders treated for grazes, dislocations, fractures and head injuries.

Queensland Ambulance Service bicycle response team paramedic Madeline Shield said crews had increasingly been called to scooter incidents.

A Lime scooter user on the streets of Brisbane.Credit: AAP

"It seems to be a regular occurrence that we go to electric-scooter crashes or people coming off those scooters," she said.

Early data showed emergency services responded to about 60 scooter-related incidents since November.

On Sunday night, a man in his 40s fell from an electric scooter while riding along the Brisbane Riverwalk in New Farm.

Paramedics were called to the scene about 11pm and treated the man for a head injury. He was conscious and taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital in a stable condition.

The spike in injuries coincided with the arrival of US company Lime to Brisbane, with hundreds of electric scooters rolled-out across the inner-suburbs.

Ms Shield said most paramedic call-outs were due to people doing the wrong thing, such as speeding, riding without a helmet, doubling-up, distracted or using drugs or alcohol.

"We believe that they're fun and they serve a purpose around Brisbane but we don't want people to end up in hospital as a result of having fun," she said.

Ms Shield said there had also been near-misses with pedestrians.

"We had one yesterday — a lady was walking through the city and a scooter went past probably a little bit too quickly and she was startled and fell to the ground and ended up with some injuries," she said.

Ms Shield said it was "very common" for users to not be wearing helmets while riding Lime scooters.

"They can go up to 30km/h, so that's a fair speed to come off with no protection," she said.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the scooters had been incredibly popular.

"But what we're also seeing is because it's new technology, there's a minority of people there who are doing the wrong thing and putting other people at risk," he said.

"Police will be cracking down on people doing the wrong thing in terms of speeding and not wearing helmets."

Under new rules introduced in December, scooter riders caught misbehaving can be fined $130.

Riders must wear a helmet, cannot carry a passenger, must give way to pedestrians and they cannot be used on Brisbane CBD roads.

Earlier this month, a 43-year-old Newstead man was charged after allegedly riding a Lime scooter drunk on the road, without a helmet and failing to stop at a red light.

A Lime spokeswoman previously said the vast majority of Lime users rode and parked responsibly.

"We clearly state in our in-app messaging that riders must be over 18, wearing a helmet and are not to ride on the road," she said.

"We always encourage of riders to abide by the same laws and regulations as they would with their own personal vehicle."

The Lime scooter trial in Brisbane has been extended until the end of February, when the council was expected to hold a tender process.