E-scooters Qld: Lithium-ion battery fires put homes, lives at risk

It’s not just safety on the streets Queensland e-scooter riders need to worry about, with a new report detailing a more insidious threat.

• Opinion: Age limit just the start

The national peak body for fire safety has warned the state government more people will die from lithium-ion battery fires without proper oversight and regulations.

Fire Protection Association Australia has raised serious concerns to a parliamentary inquiry into e-scooter and e-bike safety about the growing risk of deadly fires associated with the battery-powered devices.

It comes as the first ever study into pediatric injuries exposes the rising numbers of Queensland children being admitted to hospital with shocking injuries following falls from e-scooters, sparking public health experts to call for a 16-year-old age limit in the state.

The submission to the inquiry warned that e-scooters were posing a danger to the community, with many riders using incompatible chargers or overcharging batteries in their homes.

“Without oversight and proper guidelines, sadly more people will die,” the FPA submission read.

The fire safety body referred to a coronial investigation into the death of a man in Logan that found he had used an incompatible e-scooter charger and that was the likely cause of a deadly explosion.

They also raised the need for new regulations to mitigate risk when e-scooters were charged in common areas within apartment complexes, as well as calling for local councils to receive additional funding to pay for the safe disposal of the batteries.

Queensland scooter riders face numerous safety issues.

The RACQ is also set to submit a lengthy submission covering several proposed changes, including mandating that rental e-scooters were fitted with seats.

“They should all be seated, all the hire scooters … that will reduce a lot of the injuries, particularly to facial injuries and head injuries, and will make them more stable and much easier to share the path with pedestrians,” RACQ head of public policy Dr Michael Kane said.

“Private stand-up e-scooters should all be full-face helmet, because it’s a no-brainer when you see the severity of injuries.”

The need for dedicated parking spots and paths for e-scooters and e-bikes will also feature in the RACQ submission.

“The Queensland government has the capacity to fix this problem, but it is going to take concerted effort to do it,” Dr Kane said.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jillian Barrett said the rising number of children injured using e-scooters was not surprising, and called on the state government to force companies to take out comprehensive insurance to cover these injuries.

“Enough is enough. Too many people are being horrifically injured or worse and it’s time for proper protections for riders and other road users,” Ms Barrett said.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles said Labor supported the inquiry but said it did not need to run for almost a year.

“In the meantime, people will continue to be injured, and so we would again call on the government to speed up that process. If there is more we can do to keep particularly children safe, then I think we should,” Mr Miles said.

Originally published as E-scooters Qld: Lithium-ion battery fires put homes, lives at risk