A local lawyer is warning that the Sunshine Coast’s surge in holidaymakers will put even more pressure on the annual North Coast road toll which is already 36 per cent higher than for the same period last year.
The latest Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) data reports that 78 people died on North Coast roads in 2025 – which includes the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and Wide Bay-Burnett – making it the region with Queensland’s highest number of road deaths.
The TMR’s latest data reveals that behavioural factors continue to dominate Queensland’s fatal crash profile, with almost half of those deaths now involving intoxication from alcohol or drugs, and a further one-third attributed to speed.
“The people we represent are everyday people on their way to work, picking up the kids, going to do the shopping,” Greg Spinda, Sunshine Coast personal injury lawyer and partner at Travis Schultz & Partners, says.
“They’re the ones suffering life-changing injuries such as fractures, brain injuries and significant psychological trauma, all because someone else chose to be a fool on the road. A driver checking a message for two seconds can destroy a life. A rider buzzing through a crossing on an e-scooter can cause injuries that change someone’s future forever.”
Queensland is facing a surge in serious e-scooter harm.
New analysis from the Jamieson Trauma Institute and RACQ shows 1608 riders hospitalised in the first 10 months of 2025 – equivalent to five people every single day.
“These numbers reflect what we’re seeing on the Sunshine Coast: a steady stream of serious injuries from regular e-bike and e-scooter accidents,” Mr Spinda says.
“Many people don’t realise that in e-scooter and e-bike crashes, the rider themselves is liable for harm they cause – nor that those injured may have little recourse to seek recovery of their medical costs or lost income because of the woeful insurance coverage for these devices.
“We’ve had inquiries where someone has been struck by a speeding e-scooter while walking on the footpath and they’re shocked to learn there’s no compulsory insurance, leaving the injured person with huge medical costs unless the rider can pay – and often they can’t.
“With injuries now resembling high-speed car-crash trauma, the legal, medical and financial fallout can be enormous.
“I applaud the state government’s inquiry into personal mobility devices and hope to see a swift response to the committee’s recommendations once they are finalised in March 2026.
“The problem is, at the current rate, we are likely to see many more fatalities and injuries before then.”
With more pedestrians out at night, more families on holidays and more children walking to the beach or cafés during the summer break, Mr Spinda is urging the community to remember what’s at risk.
