Full-face helmets urged for e-scooter riders after new safety study

Experts are calling for changes to e-scooter safety standards, including sit-down scooters and full-face helmets, after finding dangerous speeds and riding behaviour led to “life-changing facial and head injuries”.

A Jamieson Trauma Institute study found one-third of riders admitted to emergency rooms were travelling above the legal speed threshold for e-scooters – 25km/h – which is possible on modified private devices.

RACQ’s head of public policy, Dr Michael Kane, called for safety reforms in both private and hire devices. The organisation wants mandatory full-face helmets for private riders, and all rented scooters to be sit-down devices.

The small wheels and high centre of gravity make e-scooters dangerous in high-speed crashes.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

“What’s worrying is 65 per cent of all riders said they were wearing a helmet, which suggests standard helmets are not always protecting against facial injuries,” Kane said.

“We’re seeing terrible results when people on standing scooters crash forwards and injure their face on roads or other hard surfaces like cars.”

Bicycles Queensland advocacy director Andrew Demack said the design of e-scooters – with small wheels and a high centre of gravity – made them dangerous in high-speed crashes.

“It certainly makes sense to wear a full-face helmet,” he said.

“When a scooter hits an obstacle that brings it to a halt, the physics of the vehicle itself mean the rider is propelled forward, so ... a lot of the injuries that are associated with scooter riders are face injuries.”

Lime expects to roll out seated e-scooters in Brisbane soon. Credit: Felicity Caldwell

A “sit-down” scooter mimics the design advantages of e-bikes, with a lower centre of gravity and increased stability, the RACQ said.

Lime Mobility, one of Brisbane’s two rental providers, said it was proud of its seated scooter design, and was “really excited” to introduce them to the city soon.

“Safety comes first and always at Lime, and the seated scooter is built on a foundation of safety,” a spokeswoman said.

Lime’s seated scooters have increased suspension and larger wheels, she said.

However, Demack said seated e-scooters were bulkier and less convenient than typical stand-up designs.

“Part of the attraction, I think, of scooters is that most of them can fold up and be stored away,” Demack said.

The RBWH Foundation’s Simone Garske, RACQ’s Michael Kane and Jamieson Trauma Institute’s Dr Michael Schuetz.Credit: RACQ

He said dangerous riding had many causes, including illegal modifications and unsafe riding practices, but he pointed to Brisbane’s lack of active transport infrastructure as a significant issue.

“At the moment in south-east Queensland, we have an incomplete network that has a lot of challenges, and it seems to us that continued investment in that is really important.

“If we’re looking ahead to things like the Olympics … we need to look at ways that people can get around by active transport.”

The study found three-quarters of those who rode a private e-scooter did so at least four times a week, while one-third of those injured on hire scooters said it was their first time riding one.

Of the study participants, 36 per cent came a-cropper on a hired device.

The study found most crashes on private devices occurred during the week, while crashes on hired devices were predominantly on weekends.

The study was jointly funded by RACQ and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

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