E-scooter hoons face $6000 fines under massive Qld crackdown

E-scooter riders and cyclists will face fines of up to $6192 under new proposed laws designed to crack down on dangerous riding in Queensland.

• Explained: E-scooter rules

E-scooter riders and cyclists face fines of up to $6192 under new proposed laws designed to crack down on dangerous riding and put their punishments on par with other types of vehicle users.

Queenslanders who use a personal mobility device like an e-scooter without due care and attention on footpaths, bike paths and other shared paths don’t currently face the same punishment as those who commit the offence on roads.

But that is set to change under new laws set to be introduced by Transport Minister Mark Bailey on Thursday.

Under the latest crackdown on misbehaving e-scooter riders those find riding carelessly face a maximum fine of 40 penalty units or $6192.

QPS officers at the Goodwill Bridge, Brisbane City, checking the speed of cyclists and e-scooter riders.

They will be made to face a magistrate who will decided the size of the fine based on the severity of offending, rather than being issued an on the spot fine.

Personal mobility device users will also be made to stop and help at the scene of a crash and exchange details with those at the scene including their name and address details.

If they don’t they face a maximum fine of 20 penalty units or $3096.

Mr Bailey said the latest raft of laws were part of the state’s ongoing e-scooter reforms borne out of a safety action plan released in mid-2022.

He said the laws, once passed, would ensure e-scooter and bike riders have the “same responsibilities as all other drivers and riders”.

“E-scooters are a great way to get around, but their social licence depends on users doing the right thing,” Mr Bailey said.

“These new laws ensure e-scooter riders will need to play by the same rules as the rest of us and significant penalties will apply for those that ride irresponsibly.”

There will be a crackdown on dangerous behaviour in Queensland.

It comes after Queensland Police recently revealed traffic cops were having to search for teeth after horrific crashes involving e-scooters, with data showing records numbers of riders were showing up in emergency departments with serious injuries.

Metro North Hospital and Health Service’s Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit collects data from 20 emergency departments across the state and data from January to July this year revealed there had been 716 ED presentations so far.

This is the equivalent of 23 people a week.

The presentations in the first six months compares to 1033 cases in 2022, 706 in 2021, 386 in 2020 and 288 in 2019.

In November 2022 e-scooter riders were hit with increased penalties for speeding and using their mobile phone behind the handlebars — just like motorists.