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Speaker 1: Well, we know that there's been quite a bit of

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Speaker 1: discussion about the scooters that you see around the place,

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Speaker 1: and a new study has highlighted the significant impact that

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Speaker 1: a scooters are having on the Top Ends health system.

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Speaker 1: With one hundred presentations to the emergency department in eight months,

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Speaker 1: those who were admitted to the hospital were intoxicated. While

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Speaker 1: writing is my understanding now Joining me on the line

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Speaker 1: right now is Charles Darwin University lecturer Tim piott kovski

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Speaker 1: I do apologize Tim if I've pronounced that name incorrectly.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, heod morning. How are you? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Good, lovely to have you on the show, Tim, Tim

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Speaker 1: talk us through this study. What did it reveal?

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Speaker 2: All right? Well, obviously we had a lot of We

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Speaker 2: did a prospective study looking at the people that came

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Speaker 2: into emergency at the Royal Dwan for about eight months,

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Speaker 2: so January to September October in twenty twenty one, just

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Speaker 2: looking at what sort of injuries, whether they were intoxicated,

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Speaker 2: and how much that sort of cost the hospital system.

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Speaker 2: So lots and lots of broken arms, ris, lots of

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Speaker 2: facial dental damage, and a lot of head injuries because

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Speaker 2: people weren't wearing their helmets, and about half half of

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Speaker 2: all the presentations were intoxicated, so that wasn't super brighter, No.

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Speaker 1: And Tim, I guess I'm sort of not surprised because

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Speaker 1: I usually catch up with Saint John's every Monday, and

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Speaker 1: you know, generally there is an e scooter incident pretty often,

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Speaker 1: and pretty often they're fairly late at night or very

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Speaker 1: early in the mornings.

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Speaker 2: Correct, between between midnight and four in the morning. Between

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Speaker 2: Thursday and Sunday were the most common times of presentation.

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Speaker 1: And do you have any idea of how serious? Some

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Speaker 1: of those injuries were.

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Speaker 2: Pretty like pretty pretty bad. Some people were very lucky.

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Speaker 2: We had a you know, there was a lot of

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Speaker 2: X rays and cts. But you know, some people had

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Speaker 2: to stay for for quite some time. So I think

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Speaker 2: up to some people ended up in long stay, some

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Speaker 2: short stay, and the costs associated with that was up

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Speaker 2: to a few thousand dollars per per patient.

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Speaker 1: Wow. So there's no doubt it's having an impact in

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Speaker 1: a number of different ways. By the sounds of things.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so I think it'd just be good to

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Speaker 2: you know, Brisbane or Queensland or introduced some pretty hefty

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Speaker 2: fines and things like that. I think, you know, we

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Speaker 2: here in the top end could look at maybe more

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Speaker 2: strategic public health messaging, maybe people telling their stories about

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Speaker 2: you know, what happened to them. Can you can imagine

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Speaker 2: it'd be, you know, you're out for a good night

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Speaker 2: with mates, right and then you you know, have a

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Speaker 2: few too many drinks, you don't put your helmet on,

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Speaker 2: you hit a curb and then that you're in hospital

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Speaker 2: for a few days. That's one of the you know,

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Speaker 2: one of the probably worst things that could happen and disappointing.

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Speaker 2: But if if we've got a bit more awareness about

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Speaker 2: that out there, a bit more harm reduction messaging, encourage

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Speaker 2: the helmet wearing, encourage you know, not drinking and hopping

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Speaker 2: on the scooters. I think that that would be a

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Speaker 2: great start, and that would be something that you know, stakeholders,

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Speaker 2: you know, research and those in policy, it would be

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Speaker 2: good to get together and have some discussions.

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Speaker 1: How often are people sort of jumping on their scooters

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Speaker 1: without helmets on and ending up injured? Is that, you know,

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Speaker 1: is that a pretty common denominator?

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Speaker 2: Quite common? Yeah, you know across not just here, across Australia. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and particular.

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Speaker 1: Late at night yeah, I mean, like you've touched on

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Speaker 1: the Queensland government obviously recently implemented those penalties for e scooters.

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Speaker 1: So they've got fines for two hundred and fifteen dollars

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Speaker 1: for exceeding the speed limit by fourteen to twenty five

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Speaker 1: kilometers an hour, one hundred and forty three dollars for

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Speaker 1: not wearing a helmet, and four hundred and thirty one

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Speaker 1: dollars for drink driving. Do you reckon that the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory government should consider us putting in some penalties like that.

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Speaker 2: I suppose you know, this is this piece of research

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Speaker 2: is one extra piece of the puzzle. Right. We are

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Speaker 2: myself and my colleague doctor Moran from Royal Damen Hospital

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Speaker 2: where we're extending this line of research. So we're going

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Speaker 2: to interview some of the people that were injured see

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Speaker 2: how far those harms have penetrated their lives. And also

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Speaker 2: we're going to run some longer follow up studies and

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Speaker 2: I think that might be able to capture whatever I

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Speaker 2: guess policy is implemented. I think so a great start is,

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Speaker 2: you know, keeping the discussions people centered, so better messaging,

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Speaker 2: more awareness, more lived experience stories, and really focusing on

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Speaker 2: keeping people safe and encouraging safety.

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Speaker 1: Tim, do you know I know that that We've got

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Speaker 1: a message here from kjan It said, good morning Katie

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Speaker 1: and crew. Can they put alcohol locks on the scooters?

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Speaker 1: Is that something that is possible or do you know

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Speaker 1: if they do anything like that in other locations.

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Speaker 2: I think that's a cost issue for the companies that

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Speaker 2: are rolling this out. It would certainly be possible. You

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Speaker 2: can put a breath on a car, right, Yeah, same

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Speaker 2: sort of thing. But I guess you know, you you

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Speaker 2: when you get on the SCOO, you sign the agreement

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Speaker 2: or whatever, helmet, haven't been drinking all that sort of stuff,

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Speaker 2: and you know people are expected to stick by that.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's it'll definitely be possible, And I guess

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Speaker 2: that's something that could be considered by the companies, right

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Speaker 2: if they truly want to keep the community and in

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Speaker 2: the I guess center of their focus and what they do.

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Speaker 1: Is there anything else that you sort of found quite

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Speaker 1: interesting throughout the study that you've done. I guess for

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Speaker 1: a lot of people, it's probably not a huge surprise

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Speaker 1: that there are quite a few people being injured and

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Speaker 1: not wearing helmets. And also while intoxicated, But was there

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Speaker 1: anything else sort of quite interesting that you you know

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Speaker 1: that you'd found.

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Speaker 2: Just the high alcohol level. I mean, you know, the

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Speaker 2: average was over triple triple the BAC route with so

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Speaker 2: zero point one eight percent the highest point four nine percent,

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Speaker 2: So pretty staggering numbers. I suppose not too many people

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Speaker 2: using drugs and riding them. The cost is probably what's

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Speaker 2: really I guess the most interesting that it's over three

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Speaker 2: hundred and fifty thousand extra on the healthcare system and

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Speaker 2: already strained healthcare system up here in the top end.

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Speaker 2: You know, these physicians have a lot to deal with already,

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Speaker 2: and so it would be really nice to see some

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Speaker 2: more external stakeholder collaboration on how we could optimize our

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Speaker 2: public health response. Tim, do you reckon?

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Speaker 1: Like you know, again, through the research that you've done,

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Speaker 1: I know that a lot of people have sort of

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Speaker 1: raised this point as well, Do you reckon? A lot

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Speaker 1: of it comes down to personal responsibility though too right.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I don't get behind the wheel of a

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Speaker 1: car after I've been drinking. I certainly wouldn't jump on

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Speaker 1: a scooter. And I know, you know, I'm a little

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Speaker 1: bit older these days, probably a bit more sensible than

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Speaker 1: what I was when I was young. But doesn't you know,

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Speaker 1: does it come down to that as well, taking a

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Speaker 1: bit of personal responsibility.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, definitely. But at the same time, you know,

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Speaker 2: those of us who might be a little bit more mature,

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Speaker 2: bit more experience. You know, everybody makes mistakes, but if

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Speaker 2: you have a good level of awareness and there's messaging

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Speaker 2: out there that you know, warns people, then that's probably

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Speaker 2: I think the best you can do. But of course

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Speaker 2: the onus does does fall upon the person. But we

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Speaker 2: we all make mistakes, field do silly things. So got

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Speaker 2: to you know, put put the soft mass out right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I guess so, and you know, when it's

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Speaker 1: having such an impact as well in terms of you know,

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Speaker 1: the presentations to hospital and and the costs associated to

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Speaker 1: I think we do need to do a bit more

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Speaker 1: sort of recent bit more looking into this and what

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Speaker 1: could be employ meant to try to keep people a

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Speaker 1: little bit safer. Yeah, yeah, Tim, great to speak with

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Speaker 1: you this morning. I really appreciate your time and really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your talking us through you know, the study that

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Speaker 1: has been done and the research that has been done.

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Speaker 1: C do you Lecturer in psychology, Tim Piontkovski. Did I

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Speaker 1: get it right? Tim? You did awesome, Thank you, Thanks mate.

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Speaker 1: Great to speak to you this morning. You too,