Calls to ban Lime electric scooters from Australia after man, 50, dies and others are injured in a spate of horrific crashes
- There are calls to ban Lime electric scooters with fears more people will die
- A 50-year-old man died in Brisbane after falling off his scooter on Wednesday
- The Pedestrian Council of Australia said the death shows they are dangerous
- Lime said the scooter the man was riding did not malfunction at the time
- A Brisbane man last month suffered facial injuries after his scooter locked up
Safety advocates say more people will die unless the Brisbane City Council slaps an immediate ban on electric scooters (pictured)
Safety advocates say more people will die unless the Brisbane City Council slaps an immediate ban on electric scooters.
The Pedestrian Council of Australia said the death of a rider, who suffered traumatic head injuries after falling from a Lime hire scooter, shows how dangerous they are.
The group's chief Harold Scruby said riders on footpaths are ducking and weaving among pedestrians at 25km/h, and the risks cannot be safely managed.
'A man has now died. What more evidence do you need that these things have got to be banned,' he told the ABC.
'France is just banning all scooters on all footpaths, only last week. From September in LA, where they invented the things, you cannot ride a scooter on a footpath.'
The 50-year-old rider died in hospital after crashing down a set of stairs at Brisbane's South Bank on Wednesday.
Despite wearing a helmet he suffered traumatic head injuries and went to cardiac arrest as a result of those injuries. Paramedics revived him but he died in hospital the next day.
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The city council, which is currently in the middle of a tender process that could see a second scooter company licensed to operate in Brisbane, is waiting on the results of a investigation into the death.
'The information that we receive from that investigation will help us, going forward, to make a decision on e-scooters,' Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.
'Obviously anything that comes out of this investigation is something we'll take very seriously.'
Lime insists its scooters are safe, despite the ambulance service revealing 80 people wound up in hospital over a two-month period as a result of scooter incidents. Of those, 12 needed surgery.
Brisbane man Dylan Pires (pictured) suffered horrific facial injuries after the hire Lime scooter he was riding suddenly locked up
Company spokesman Mitchell Price said a scooter malfunction had been ruled out as a factor in the man's death.
He attacked Mr Scruby for his 'insensitive and inappropriate' comments about scooter safety, saying the focus should be on caring for the dead man's family.
'Lime scooters are safe,' Mr Price said.
'It is far too early for us to be changing anything, to be commenting on this accident that has happened.'
Mr Scruby said anyone who tried to take a walk through Brisbane would beg to differ with scooter riders - often without helmets and doubling other people - risking people's safety.
The Pedestrian Council of Australia said the death of a rider, who suffered traumatic head injuries after falling from a Lime hire scooter, shows how dangerous they are
He wants Lime scooters off the streets but is open to the idea of a 10km/h speed limit, something backed by Vision Australia amid concerns for the vision impaired.
Last month Brisbane man Dylan Pires suffered horrific facial injuries after the hire Lime scooter he was riding suddenly locked up.
He had been riding to a supermarket during his work break when he was sent flying over the scooter's handlebars and hit the pavement.
Mr Pires, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, woke up in hospital suffering a broken nose, broken cheek, fractured sinus and stitches to his forehead.
Jordan Madigan (pictured), 26, had his heel ripped open after the Lime scooter he was using to ride to work seized up and threw him off
He also needed to have pins inserted in his cheeks as a result of the incident.
At the time a spokesperson for Lime said it had not been confirmed the incident was caused because the scooter wheels locked.
In February, Jordan Madigan, 26, had his heel ripped open after the Lime scooter he was using to ride to work seized up and threw him off.
The scooter threw him off so suddenly that it whipped around and struck his foot - which was enclosed in sneakers - so hard that it tore the skin right off.
Mr Madigan was forced to get stitches after the ordeal and needed antibiotics and crutches for a few days.
