A woman was lucky to escape serious injury after she was hit by a car on her e-scooter – but police warn she could face a fine for breaking a crucial road rule.
The woman had not been wearing a helmet when her e-scooter collided with a car leaving the Milton Street Mini Mart about 10am Thursday.
Witness Tamara Battams said she saw the car “rolling out the driveway and there was no way” the woman on the scooter could have gotten out of the way.
“Her arm hit the (bullbar) and her head hit the concrete,” Ms Battams said, adding that thankfully neither vehicle was “going fast at all”.
A young woman was riding without a helmet when her e-scooter crashed into a car on Milton St. Photo: Zoe Devenport
A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said the young woman was taken to Mackay Base Hospital with a cut to her head but was otherwise in a stable condition.
Police also attended the crash.
Then just 12 hours later, a teenager was injured in a e-scooter incident at Bucasia on Mackay’s northside.
Paramedics took the teen male to Mackay Base Hospital with an ankle injury after an incident on Hangan St.
A young woman was riding without a helmet when her e-scooter crashed into a car on Milton St. Photo: Zoe Devenport
The two incidents follow a 16-year-old girl suffering leg injuries when a car reportedly crashed into her e-scooter with the driver afterwards allegedly fleeing the scene.
And earlier this month, an 83-year-old man was killed after his motorbike collided with an e-scooter in the Whitsundays.
Senior Sergeant Shane Edwards said it was crucial riders wore helmets with a recorded rise in head and facial injuries.
“E-scooters are a new phenomena on our roads within Queensland,” Snr Sergeant Edwards said, speaking ahead of National Road Safety Week initiatives to be rolled out across the state from May 14 to 21.
“Unfortunately there’s a lot of people out there that are not doing the correct thing.
“When they come off, they tend to go face first into the surface.
“There’s people disregarding the helmet laws, they’re using mobile phones, they’re drink driving while on the scooters.
Senior Sergeant Shane Edwards said e-scooters were a “new phenomenon” in road safety, but urged riders to wear their helmets amid a surge in head injuries. Photo: Zoe Devenport
“It’s a concern, but they appear to be here to stay.
“So we ask that people use them and enjoy them, but use them in the correct manner and in the correct locations.”
He said authorities were still trying to “get that road safety message out there” with the relatively new rules for e-scooter riders.
Snr Sergeant Edwards said there was a potential for the young woman on Milton St to be given a fine for not wearing a helmet, but given her injuries it would not have been the first priority for attending officers.