E-scooter injuries have more than doubled in the past year the Alfred Hospital says.

Last year the hospital treated 41 people with E-scooter related injuries, this year it’s 84.

It comes as new figures confirm all road-related injuries have significantly increased this year as the state emerged from lockdown.

Trauma specialist at the Alfred Hospital, Associate Professor Joseph Mathew, says it’s expected to get worst this weekend as workers break for the Easter holidays.

“This morning I caught up with all my junior doctors and warned them that we can expect an increase in numbers around the Easter long weekend,” he told Tony Jones on 3AW Mornings.

“And the next weekend after that is the Anzac long weekend, so we are expecting large numbers of injured patients coming in through road traffic accidents, pedestrians, cyclists, the whole range, including e-scooters.

“So we are mentally prepared for that, we hope that it is not true, but we are prepared to deal with that.”

Dr Mathew said E-scooter injuries were particularly devastating.

“What people don’t realise is the normal protection that a car offers with seatbelts, airbags … are not available on the motorbikes or E-scooters,” he said.

“And E-scooters as such are not designed very well with the fixed point in the front.

“So when you come off at 20 to 30 kilometres per hour without any protection … you fall and you have devastating inuries, and people don’t realise that.”

Press PLAY to hear more from Dr Mathew below 

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