#46 Electric micromobility and safety

The increased use of e-bikes and e-scooters is clearly evident on Australian roads, especially in urban areas. These vehicles offer users a range of benefits for short-range trips, including low purchase and operating costs, convenience, accessibility and the absence of licencing and training requirements, as well as age restrictions. While research on the safety aspects of micromobility devices has been conducted in many places over the last decade, authorities face new challenges in addressing the risks as serious crashes continue to make headlines. Last week saw two more deaths of young boys in e-bike and e-scooter crashes in Queensland, where a formal review of related issues is reportedly already underway.

A recent contribution to the top-ranked journal Safety Science[1] examined fatal e-scooter crashes specifically, noting that crashes involving the vehicles are recorded differently across Australian states and territories, complicating national-level analyses. Media reports were examined as an alternative and supplementary data source, arriving at figures close to those of official sources. From January 2020 to April 2025, there were 37 confirmed e-scooter fatalities across Australia, including 17 in Queensland, 8 in Victoria, with Western Australia and New South Wales also having 7 and 4 fatalities, respectively.

As well as the total numbers, of particular concern is the over-involvement of children in these incidents, who accounted for 35.1% (13) of all fatalities. The majority of child fatalities (85%) involved another moving vehicle, while adult fatalities were single-vehicle crashes in most cases (54%). This highlights the risks of children sharing the road with larger and faster motorised vehicles.

Engineering treatments for e-scooters and e-bikes are limited, beyond those which are already available and increasingly implemented for traditional (non-motorised) bikes and scooters. While riders are generally permitted to use footpaths in Queensland, in contrast to some other jurisdictions, this does not appear to be reducing risks. Evidence on helmet use, while mandatory, shows poor levels of compliance in some studies, while the lack of understanding of how to safely interact with traffic also appears problematic.  Haghani, author of the cited research, highlights that safety might be improved through a combination of better regulation, enforcement and education. Data sharing and harmonisation across states and territories may also improve knowledge of contributing factors and related outcomes, which can lead to more effective interventions.

[1] Haghani, M. (2025). One in three Australian e-scooter fatalities are children: An emerging paediatric public health, a safety concern and a call for investigating the epidemiology of risk. Safety Science 191, November 2025, 106963.