Top End hospitals investigate e-Scooter crash toll

Drunk, helmet-less and speedy e-Scooter crashes are being investigated in major Top End hospital review.

A MAJOR investigation into the toll of e-Scooters on Top End hospitals is being prepared by health officials.

A NT Health spokeswoman confirmed a joint study between Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospital and the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre was looking into e-Scooter related crashes.

She said the data was assessing hospitalisations with e-scooter related injuries at the Royal Darwin between February to October 2021, with a publication expected soon.

Neuron said the majority of scooter riders acted responsibly since Darwin hire service launched in January 2020.

A spokeswoman said there were on average less than two hospitalisations in Darwin per 100,000km travelled by users.

With 2.5 million kilometres clocked up in the Top End, this is an estimated 50 Darwin riders in hospital.

E-Scooter Safety – people are not wearing helmets while riding scooters Picture Julianne Osborne

The Neuron spokeswoman said all customers were given rules before riding and there were safety features built into the system, including a geo-locking feature on Mitchell St at night to prevent drunk drivers.

She said a survey of riders across Australia found Darwin riders were some of the most complacent with helmet wearing.

St Johns Ambulance NT Regional Manager Northern Chris Perera said head, facial and limb injuries were the most common, and could range from mild to life-threatening depending on the crash.

“Helmets make a significant difference between you walking out of hospital, going into rehabilitation – or worse,” Mr Perera said.

E-Scooter Safety

He said the scooters should be treated like any motorised vehicle, urging riders to not speed, ride to the conditions, to limit to one rider per scooter, and not to drive under the influence.

He said the average e-Scooter victim was a 36-year-old, usually finding themselves in trouble late in the evening.

Mr Perera said the while scooters were often used to zip around on a night out, the dangers of a crash were the same as any road trauma.