A terrifying near miss between a truck and an electric scooter rider has been captured on dashcam, highlighting the dangers of mobility devices, including scooters, on Aussie roads.
The footage, captured in Townsville, Queensland shows a youth wheeling his e-scooter along the footpath before making a dash onto the road between two parked cars, straight into the path of an oncoming truck.
The scooter rider, donning black headphones and no helmet, was seemingly unaware of the incoming vehicle and failed to look before crossing, forcing the truck driver to slam on their brakes. Not even then did the scooter rider flinch.
Truck driver’s quick-thinking praised
The truck driver’s quick-thinking was praised on Facebook where the video was shared. “Praise to this truck driver paying attention this morning… that was very close,” the poster said.
Many called out the scooter rider for not paying attention, insisting wearing headphones while riding is “extremely dangerous”.
“No one should be allowed to wear headphones and ear buds while riding and driving,” one person said. “The amount [of people] I see behind the wheel of cars is shocking. How can they hear emergency vehicles or horns.”
Many agreed it was a “very lucky” outcome and could have been far worse. “Great job by the truck driver,” one said.
“Very lucky that the truck driver didn’t have a full load otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to stop that quick,” someone else observed. With some labelling the scooter rider’s move as “stupidity”.
What are the laws around e-scooters in Australia?
Queensland is one of the only states which permits travel at speeds up to 25 km/h using e-scooters. However, a helmet is mandatory. It was announced last year that e-scooter riders in Queensland could face huge fines under new laws aimed at cracking down on those caught doing the wrong thing.
Electric mobility vehicles are also legal in the ACT and under certain conditions in Victoria, WA, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. In NSW, however, personal e-scooters remain illegal on roads and road-related areas, including footpaths, shared paths and bicycle lanes. The same rule applies in South Australia.
In September an Aussie schoolboy died after being struck by a ute while riding his scooter on Father’s Day. And last month, a driver took out an electric scooter rider at pedestrian crossing.
In Queensland, e-scooter-related presentations to hospitals rose from 279 in 2019 to 877 in 2022. By September of 2023, this figure had already reached 801, a study examining data from the Royal Melbourne Hospital reported. Similar trends are seen in almost every city that has introduced e-scooters.
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