City of Vincent suspends e-scooter trial just days after death of Perth father
A second council has pulled the handbrake on e-scooters following a spate of serious incidents.
The City of Vincent, a local government in Perth, has suspended its e-scooter trial as of June 6 to allow time for a review.
Its rental scooters will be removed from the streets over the next 48 hours.
Vincent's announcement comes a day after the City of Perth made the snap decision to suspend rental e-scooters indefinitely following the death of 51-year-old pedestrian Thanh Phan.
'We were very saddened to hear about the tragic accident in the City of Perth,' Vincent Mayor Alison Xamon said.
'Our condolences are with the family.
'Like our neighbours at Perth, we have decided to temporarily suspend our trial so we can review the safety of the hireable e-scooters and consider ways to improve this service or if it even needs to continue.'
Phan, a Menora father of two, was allegedly struck by a drunk tourist while out for dinner in the CBD last Saturday night.
'A tragic event occurred at the weekend and our thoughts are with the deceased man's family at this very sad time,' City of Perth Deputy Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds said on Thursday.
'In response to the fatality, the City of Perth has suspended the hiring of e-scooters.'
Phan's death came just days after a 31-year-old man was killed in a late-night crash with a truck.
An 11-year-old boy was fortunate not to have lost his right leg in a collision with a car in Lakelands, in Perth's south, on May 23.
WA Police are preparing to crack down on unsafe riders and will launch an operation on Friday.
Officers will be targeting speeding, mobile phones, riding under the influence of drugs and alcohol, helmet use and passenger limits.
'Police will be adopting an 'education through enforcement' approach to identified offences involving electric rideable devices,' WA Police said.
St John Ambulance has responded to 328 serious e-scooter crashes this year.
Doctors say devastating crashes involving e-scooters are on the rise, with one seriously injured rider presenting every day at RPH.
'We saw an exponential increase in these injuries over the last five or so years,' RPH trauma surgeon Dieter Weber told 7NEWS last week.
'This has been a new injury pattern that we simply did not have previously.'
'Traumatic injuries'
Public health and safety experts have called for improved safety regulations across Australia after a new report identified that 176 injured children aged between five years and 15 years had been taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in 2023 and 2024.
Researchers found one in 10 e-scooter injuries were life threatening or potentially life threatening, and almost four in 10 cases involved a broken bone.
'The types of injuries ranged from minor fractures and injuries through to traumatic brain injuries requiring a craniotomy,' lead author Matthew Clanfield said.
'A lot of the parents attending were extremely upset to see their child hospitalised and weren't aware how risky e-scooters can be or the legal requirement for supervision under 16.'
Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin said e-scooters were 'proving (to be) a genuine public health risk and injury prevention issue'.
'This study provides data in one region and in one hospital, but this is an issue in every town and city where they have landed across Australia,' he said.
The Queensland Government is preparing to hold a public inquiry into e-scooters and other mobility devices.
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