Of all the things to put a public health system under pressure…

In some news you definitely didn’t expect this Thursday arvo, a new study has found Darwin’s public health system to be strained from drunk E-scooter riders. Specifically, it seems the collision are going so far as costing the health system hundreds of thousands of dollars, as half of scooter-induced injuries aren’t covered by any vehicle accident insurance.

Over the 111 emergency department presentations across eight months to September 2021, the most common wounds riders presented were limb and head injuries, with almost all accidents resulting from falling and all but three occurring on rented scooters. Other ailments included dental injuries, dislocated joints and chest ailments.

The study, which is the first of its kind in the Northern Territory, found alcohol levels for e-scooter riders in the territory to far exceed the levels of any other similar studies, with the average BAC level to be 0.18% (Even though riders are meant to be sober). It makes sense however, considering that the Northern Territory has the nation’s biggest rates of alcohol consumption.

E-scooter company Neuron Mobility has defended itself in response to the study, however, stating, “The report shows less than 0.16 per cent, or 111 of the estimated 70,000 hospital presentations [over the studied period], were attributed to injuries related to either private or rental e-scooters. While this number is comparatively low, we are always looking for ways to reduce risks further”.