E-scooters and brain injury: The safety gap we need to close
23 April 2026
Around half of the injuries sustained in e-scooter crashes presenting to Queensland hospitals involve the head or face.¹
For trauma clinicians and rehabilitation specialists, that statistic immediately raises concern. Injuries to the head carry a far greater risk of traumatic brain injury, which is one of the most serious and life-altering forms of trauma.
March marked Brain Injury Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the profound consequences of brain injury for individuals, families and communities.
For those working within healthcare and injury compensation systems, the impact is well understood. A traumatic brain injury can permanently affect memory, cognition, emotional regulation, employment capacity and independence. Even injuries initially classified as ‘mild’ can produce persistent neurological symptoms that interfere with work, study and daily functioning.
At the same time, transport technology is evolving rapidly. Electric scooters and other personal mobility devices (PMDs) have become a familiar feature of urban mobility across Queensland since shared e-scooter schemes were first introduced in Brisbane in 2018.
These devices offer real benefits. They provide convenient short-distance transport, reduce reliance on private vehicles and contribute to lower-emission mobility options in dense urban environments.
But as with any new transport technology, widespread adoption has been accompanied by an emerging injury profile.
And the data from Queensland hospitals suggests a pattern that deserves serious attention.
The Queensland injury data
Queensland has been one of the earliest Australian jurisdictions to adopt shared e-scooter schemes, and the rapid uptake of these devices has been mirrored by a steady increase in injury presentations.
Emergency department data collected through the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) shows that presentations linked to personal mobility device incidents have increased significantly since their introduction.²
Recent reporting drawing on Queensland hospital data indicates more than 2,000 hospitalisations related to e-mobility injuries occurred in 2025, with emergency department presentations far exceeding that number.³
Importantly, these figures likely represent only part of the picture. QISU captures injury data from a subset of Queensland hospitals, meaning the true number of incidents across the state is likely considerably higher.²
What is particularly striking is the pattern of injuries recorded.
Hospital data indicates that around half of e-scooter injuries involve the head or face, making cranial trauma one of the most common injury categories associated with these devices.³
Fractures also represent a significant proportion of injuries, accounting for approximately 39% of cases in recent hospital data.³
While many incidents involve relatively minor injuries, the prevalence of head trauma raises particular concern due to the potential for traumatic brain injury.
The risks for children and young riders
The risks appear especially pronounced for younger riders.
Evidence from Metro North Health and QISU indicates that approximately one quarter of emergency department presentations involve children under the age of 16.⁴
Queensland is also the only Australian state that currently permits riders under 16 to use e-scooters, a policy setting that has attracted increasing scrutiny from clinicians and road safety experts.⁴
Tragically, fatalities have also occurred. Evidence presented to the parliamentary inquiry indicated that 14 deaths in Queensland during 2025 were linked to e-mobility devices, underscoring the seriousness of the issue.⁵
These incidents have prompted growing calls from medical organisations and safety advocates for stronger regulatory measures aimed at reducing injury risk.
Why helmet design matters
The prominence of head injuries in e-scooter crashes is closely linked to the biomechanics of how these incidents occur.
Unlike cyclists, e-scooter riders stand upright on a narrow deck and have a higher centre of gravity. Sudden braking, surface irregularities or collisions often result in forward projection, where the rider is thrown over the handlebars.
In these scenarios, the head and face are frequently the first point of impact.
This crash dynamic is important because many helmets currently worn by riders were originally designed to protect against different types of impacts associated with bicycle falls.
When the injury mechanism changes, it raises an important question: are current helmet standards providing the best possible protection for riders?
Helmet use is already mandatory for e-scooter riders under Queensland road rules. However, hospital clinicians and trauma specialists have raised concerns about both helmet compliance and helmet design.
Thousands of infringement notices are issued each year for riders failing to wear helmets.⁶
Even when helmets are worn, doctors report frequent cranial and facial injuries, reflecting the distinctive crash dynamics associated with e-scooters.
Most helmets currently worn by riders comply with the Australian/New Zealand bicycle helmet standard (AS/NZS 2063). However, evidence presented to policymakers suggests that the impact forces and injury patterns associated with e-scooter crashes may differ significantly from those seen in traditional cycling accidents.
Safety experts have therefore begun examining whether enhanced helmet designs could provide improved protection. Potential design considerations include:
• Greater coverage of the back and sides of the head.
• Improved retention systems to prevent helmet displacement.
• Enhanced protection against rotational forces.
• Facial protection to reduce serious craniofacial injuries.
The Parliamentary Inquiry
These concerns ultimately prompted the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into the Safety of Personal Mobility Devices, conducted by the State Development and Regional Industries Committee.
The inquiry received more than 1,200 submissions and heard evidence from clinicians, researchers, industry stakeholders and road safety experts.⁷
A key theme emerging from that evidence was the growing burden of e-mobility injuries presenting to Queensland hospitals, particularly those involving head trauma.
Among the issues examined was whether helmet standards designed primarily for bicycles remain appropriate for devices with different crash dynamics.
The committee ultimately recommended that the Queensland Government continue examining helmet standards and protective equipment requirements as part of broader e-mobility safety reforms.⁵
Safety from a legal and policy perspective
From a legal perspective, the rise of e-scooter injuries raises important questions about how emerging transport technologies intersect with existing safety regulation and compensation frameworks.
Serious injuries resulting from e-scooter crashes may engage motor accident insurance schemes, public liability claims or product liability considerations, depending on the circumstances of the incident.
Traumatic brain injuries are among the most complex and costly injuries encountered within these systems, often requiring extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation and long-term care.
Historically, many of the most effective transport safety interventions – from seatbelts to motorcycle helmets – emerged after injury data revealed unacceptable levels of harm.
E-scooters may represent the latest example of this familiar pattern.
Aligning innovations with safety
Personal mobility devices are now firmly embedded within Queensland’s transport landscape. Their convenience and environmental benefits mean they will continue to play an important role in urban mobility. But the injury data emerging from Queensland hospitals highlights an important reality: new forms of transport inevitably bring new safety challenges.
The question is not whether e-scooters should exist. Their widespread adoption has already answered that. The more important question is whether our safety frameworks are evolving at the same pace as the technology itself.
Hospital data consistently shows that head injuries are a defining feature of e-scooter incidents. When that is the case, it is reasonable to ask whether protective equipment standards designed decades ago for bicycles remain fit for purpose for modern e-mobility devices.
As someone who has seen firsthand the lifelong impact of preventable brain injuries, I believed back in 2017, when e‑scooters first hit Brisbane streets, that we had a rare chance to pair an exciting new technology with a safety framework that protected riders and the community alike. Innovation should never outpace our duty of care, and every new idea deserves the same rigorous thought we owe to the people whose lives can be changed in an instant.
The recent parliamentary inquiry has opened that conversation. Ultimately, the goal is not to restrict innovation. It is to ensure that innovation does not come at the expense of preventable injury. Following Brain Injury Awareness Month, that lesson is particularly clear. Technology will continue to move quickly. But when it comes to protecting the human brain, safety must keep up.
The ALA thanks Sarah Grace for this contribution.
This is an edited version of an article first published by Travis Schultz & Partners.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
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[1] ABC News. Queensland e-scooter injuries escalate, hospital data shows. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-11/queensland-e-scooter-injuries-escalate-hospital-data-shows/106329602
[2] Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU). Injury surveillance data on personal mobility devices. https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/qisu and Privately-owned e-scooters are illegal in many Australian states, but Brisbane is forging the road ahead ABC News.
[3] RACQ. Reform critical after Queensland e-mobility injuries almost double. https://www.racq.com.au/news/advocacy/reform-critical-after-qld-e-mobility-injuries-almost-double
[4] Metro North Health. Dangers of e-scooters and injury trends. https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/news/dangers-of-e-scooters
[5] Queensland Parliament. Inquiry into the Safety of Personal Mobility Devices – Final Report. https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-Committees/Committees/Committee-Details?cid=272&id=4522
[6] Qld e-scooter crackdown: Thousands fined for not wearing helmets, evading police
[7] The Guardian. Queensland inquiry into e-bikes and e-scooters. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/24/ebikes-e-scooters-queensland-inquiry-children-under-16-licence