Operation Equitem Salutem: Police blitz e-scooter riders on incorrect roads, speeding, helmets

E-scooter safety is at the forefront of a significant police operation underway in Townsville as authorities crack down on riders flouting the rules. Here’s what you need to know.

• Injured e-scooter riders fill ED in record numbers

E-scooter safety is at the forefront of a significant police operation underway in Townsville as authorities crack down on riders flouting the rules.

Operation Equitem Salutem, an ongoing e-scooter safety and education blitz launched on May 20, aims to curb the rising trend of dangerous behaviour and accidents involving personal mobility devices (PMDs) or e-scooters.

The operation, running until June 17, has already seen officers issuing close to 100 tickets to e-scooter riders, including 42 riders caught not wearing helmets and 16 to riders not riding on permitted roads.

Townsville Highway Patrol Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Robert Nalder speaks on e-scooter safety and education operation in Townsville. Picture: Shae Beplate.

This crackdown comes in response to a troubling increase in e-scooter-related injuries, which have significantly strained Townsville University Hospital’s emergency department.

The number of injuries skyrocketed from 80 in 2020 to a staggering 278 last year.

Among the most tragic cases is that of Richard Cooper, a 35-year-old father of four who succumbed to a traumatic brain injury following an e-scooter crash in Townsville’s CBD on January 18.

Senior Sergeant Robert Nalder, Officer in Charge of the Townsville Highway Patrol, emphasised that the operation’s primary goal is to educate riders about e-scooter safety.

This initiative targets not only users of rental services like Neuron or Beam but also those with privately owned scooters.

“It has been noted by Townsville district police that these devices are being used in somewhat of a dangerous manner,” said Sgt Nalder.

”Either at high speed, without helmets, riding on the incorrect roads, doubling up and possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs after nights out.”

He said while e-scooters might seem like a cheap and convenient way to get home after a night out, it’s incredibly dangerous.

Sgt Nalder stressed that ignorance of the law is no excuse and urged riders to familiarise themselves with the rules.

“The most important rules that I think people should know is wearing a helmet and you must only ride on permitted roads with a speed limit of less than 50km/h — those are our back streets without middle lane markings or medium strips,” he said.

“There are no bicycle lanes in Townsville where personal mobility devices can be operated.

“They must be operated on the footpath. The maximum speed on a footpath is 12km/hour and on a road that is permitted is 25km/h.

“If you exceed those speed limits, you aren’t liable for a speeding ticket.”

Penalties for these violations are steep, with speeding fines ranging from $125 to $619 and a fine of $154 for not wearing a helmet.

Originally published as Operation Equitem Salutem: Police blitz e-scooter riders on incorrect roads, speeding, helmets