A string of e-scooter and e-bike crashes across Queensland has left eight people — including several teenagers — in hospital, reigniting concerns about the safety of personal mobility devices as use accelerates toward the summer peak.
Emergency services were called to multiple incidents on Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday, stretching from Brisbane to Cairns and the Sunshine Coast. Among the injured was a man in his 20s taken to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital after an e-scooter collided with a car in Ashgrove around 6.20pm. Less than half an hour later, a teenage girl suffered head and neck injuries in a separate e-scooter crash at Queentown.
Further north, a teenage boy was taken to Cairns Hospital with facial and head injuries after a late-night crash, while another teenager was hospitalised on the Sunshine Coast following an early-morning e-bike incident at Bli Bli. Other injuries were reported in Capella, Woodridge and Hervey Bay, with patients treated for arm, leg and hand trauma.
While none of the injuries were described as life-threatening, health experts say the pattern is deeply concerning rather than isolated. New data from the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit shows an average of five people are hospitalised every day in Queensland due to e-scooter crashes — a figure that rises sharply during holiday periods.
“This isn’t about freak accidents,” said a Brisbane-based trauma clinician who was not authorised to speak publicly. “We’re seeing repeated mechanisms of injury — speed, lack of protective gear, and mixed traffic environments.”
Earlier this month alone, 11 people were rushed to hospital overnight in similar circumstances, underscoring what many frontline workers describe as a growing public health challenge.
Despite mounting pressure, the Queensland Government has resisted calls for immediate legislative tightening. Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said authorities are avoiding “knee-jerk responses,” instead launching a statewide police crackdown on illegal devices while a parliamentary inquiry examines long-term reforms. That report is due in March.
Meanwhile, policy momentum is building interstate. The NSW Government is considering lowering e-bike speed limits and halving maximum motor power, following the death of a man in his 30s near a major Sydney transport interchange earlier this month. Premier Chris Minns has warned that high-powered devices pose particular risks to young riders.
Road safety advocates argue Queensland now faces a narrow window to act before summer travel and tourism amplify the dangers. As one community campaigner put it: “These devices are here to stay — but without clear rules and enforcement, the injuries will keep coming.”