Brisbane and Logan E-Scooters

Ryan Birch2024-02-05T09:07:46+10:0017/01/2023|Civil, General|

Brisbane and Logan E-Scooters

Quiet and green with no harmful emission of gases, they are convenient, low maintenance, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. November 2018 saw Brisbane start her relationship with e-scooters, and within the first seven months, commuters and tourists jumped on board, with over a million trips recorded!

As with all new relationships, there has been some working out how we negotiate this new territory, and to help this, on 1st November 2022, the Queensland Government brought out a new code of rules for Personal Mobility Devices. These include changes to speed limits and increasing fines of up to $1,078 for dangerous offences involving speed, illegal road use and holding a mobile phone while riding. If you break the road rules whioe on your scooter, you will be given the same fines as motorists.

Personal Mobility Devices include e-scooters, e-skateboards and self-balancing single-wheeled devices (like e-unicycles and e-boards). Designed for one person, they weigh no more than 60kg and will have an electric motor and two or more wheels.

Here are some smart guidelines to a injury claim on a scooter;

Keep left and give way to pedestrians and mobility devices (eg wheelchairs)
Travel at the right speed for where you are
Travel at a safe distance from a pedestrian so you can avoid a collision
Do not tailgate
Keep left of oncoming bicycles and other personal mobility devices.
Wear a helmet
Mobile phones can be mounted to the handlebar as a GPS Or speedometer. BUT you are not allowed to have a phone in your hand or tucked into your clothing.
It must have an effective stopping system and a working bell (or warning device)
The rider must be at least 16 years old (12-16 years must be supervised by an adult)
Only one person at a time on the Personal Mobility Device.
Indicate when turning right – by indicators or using your hand
Park responsibly – do not obstruct paths, access areas or park too close to junctions
Do not ride ‘under the influence of alcohol or other substances

How fast can I go?

Footpath & Shared Paths 12km/h
Separated paths & Bike Paths, Bike lanes & Local Streets 25km /h

Whatever the environment, look around for local signage. You may find Personal Mobility Devices to be prohibited, like in your local Shopping Malls.

If you do have an accident while scooting on a hire scooter (either from a scooter or on a scooter) contact the insurance company of the Scooter company (listed below)

Beam Insurance Policy

Neuron Insurance Policy

Helbiz Insurance Policy

If you are in a scooter accident, you may have a TPD claim with your Insurance policy attached to your superannuation. It can all be very confronting, annoying, and even stressful, especially when you should be recovering. If you’d like assistance going through your policies, your Revolution Lawyer specialises in injury claims and can help you check through your superannuation with you.

Contact the Revolution Law Team for options if you are hurt in any mobile accident, car or scooter accident. You can have a FREE no-obligation meeting with one of our Lawyers.

When are you too old to drive in Australia?

Revolution Law2023-09-06T09:06:51+10:0020/04/2022|Civil, Uncategorized|

When Are You Too Old to Drive?

Australia is a large country, and most of us rely on our cars to get where we need to go. Having a driver’s licence is key to the independence that many of us enjoy. However, spending time behind the wheel comes with increased risks as we age. The effects of ageing can have a marked impact on your ability to drive safely, which is why each Australian state has introduced laws that govern whether elderly drivers are too old to remain on the road. This blog will address the issues encountered by ageing drivers and the obligations of elderly drivers in each Australian state.

How Ageing Affects Driving

Ageing is a natural part of life. While it can be an inconvenience to give up the independence of driving, older drivers should be mindful of whether their age affects their skill behind the wheel. Many normal changes associated with ageing can impact driving ability, including reduced vision, hearing and flexibility. Additionally, our bodies become more frail and prone to injury. These combined factors lead to the research, which shows that drivers aged 70 and up are overrepresented in road fatalities. Despite making up just 13% of the driving population, people over 70 account for 23% of all road fatalities and 13% of serious injuries. While older drivers understand their limits and are involved in fewer accidents, those crashes are usually of greater severity.

Do Medications Affect Driving?

Although simple ageing can affect driving, some medications are also known to impair driving ability and put road users at risk. Older Australians tend to take more medications because they often have more than one chronic disorder, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or arthritis. Among older adults, 90% regularly take at least 1 prescription drug, 80% take at least 2, and 36% take 5 or more medications.

In most cases, these medications allow older Australians to live longer, more comfortable lives. But, some common medications may also have an adverse effect on driving ability. Drugs that impair driving ability include:

Sleeping pills
Opioid painkillers
Blood pressure and nausea medicines
Anti-inflammatories
Antidepressants (often used to treat bladder problems or recurring pain)

When is Too Old to Drive?

All Australian states have now introduced different controls to closely encourage older drivers to monitor their health and driving ability. Depending on where you live, the rules vary:

In Queensland, drivers aged 75 and over must carry a valid medical certificate that demonstrates their fitness to drive. Certificates are issued by doctors and are valid for 13 months.
In New South Wales, drivers aged 75 and over require an annual medical assessment. Drivers aged 85 and over must pass a practical exam every 2 years to keep an unrestricted licence.
In Victoria, there is no requirement for senior drivers to undergo a medical assessment. If a driver develops a medical condition, they may need a medical review to continue driving.
In the ACT, drivers aged 75 and over need an annual medical assessment.
In South Australia, drivers aged 75 and over must fill out annual self-assessment Medical Fitness to Drive forms. Drivers must consult their doctor if they answer yes to any of the questions on the form.
In Western Australia, drivers aged 80 and over must undergo an annual medical assessment to renew their licence. If their doctor recommends it, the driver may need to pass a practical driving exam.
In Tasmania and Northern Territory, there is no age limit for driving or medical fitness exams. Instead, all drivers are legally obligated to report medical conditions that affect their driving ability.

Have You Been Involved in a Car Accident? Speak to Your Local Revolution Law Team Today

Whether you are a young driver just getting started or an older Australian still enjoying Brisbane’s roads, it is essential to seek professional advice if you are involved in a car accident. If you have been in a collision on our roads, your local Revolution Law lawyer can provide the support and advice you need.

Your lawyer will review the details of the incident and ensure that it is correctly reported to authorities and insurance companies. This will help avoid unnecessary complications down the track, so you can recover, get back on the road sooner and get on with your life!

Revolution Lawyers can also help you lodge and navigate the process of making a motor vehicle claim. Feel free to get in touch with your local Revolution Lawyer at any time for a chat about your claim. Call, email, or the team can come to you.

Insurers Scaremongering Queenslanders blaming Lawyers for Premium rises

Revolution Law2022-06-28T17:13:04+10:0006/06/2018|Articles, Civil, General|

Insurers Scaremongering Queenslanders blaming Lawyers for Premium rises

The Queensland Law Society shared the following article late last year. We have dug it up to give it the re-share it deserves. Insurers consistently blaming personal injury lawyers is an ongoing and very weak debate which all comes back to the insurers wanting their mega profits to be multi-mega profits. Queensland’s current CTP scheme runs laps around those from other states and we are strong advocates for it to continue on as is. We have the experience and privileged of supporting injured victims who through no fault of their own have to face a painful and more difficult future. This is the purpose of CTP insurance, to compensate the victims.

Have a read of the article and share with us your thoughts:

QLD CTP proposal slammed by lawyer group as insurer greed

27th Aug 2017

The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has strongly criticised calls from Suncorp and RACQ for changes to Queensland’s Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance scheme that would see less benefits for injured motorists.

ALA Queensland Director, Rod Hodgson, said the insurer’s defined benefits proposal is driven by a desire for greater profits and fails to recognise that Queensland’s CTP scheme is the best run and best structured CTP scheme in Australia.

“Queenslanders should be proud of the stability, access to justice and affordability provided by our CTP scheme”, Mr Hodgson said.

“Premiums in Queensland are second lowest in the country and the Queensland CTP scheme provides good access to benefits for those who are injured.

“From time to time we see insurers running the argument that the sky will fall in and there is a crisis in the CTP scheme – the problem for the insurers is that is simply not true,” he said.

Mr Hodgson said it’s important to acknowledge a number of facts about CTP insurance in Queensland. They are:

In addition to being inexpensive the Queensland scheme has a very low disputation rate, which sees less than 1 per cent of matters commenced go to court;
Claims which lack merit are almost non-existent – if an insurer believes that a claim lacks merit they should do their job properly and dispute the claim;
The Queensland courts have a strong track record of supporting only claims which have merit and dodgy claims are not tolerated;
Defined benefits schemes are simply insurance company code for “we know best, benefits ought to be less and the courts ought to get out”;
The interstate experience of such schemes is of higher disputation rates, because people are unhappy with those schemes;
A race to the bottom by joining some of those interstate models is not in the interests of Queensland motorists who can be very proud of our present scheme and how it’s run; and
Queensland has long had a strong focus on rehabilitation and this was recently enhanced with changes that see those catastrophically injured from 01 July 2016 having access to not fault coverage

Mr Hodgson also singled out RACQ for their rank hypocrisy.

“This is an organisation that promotes itself as an honest advocacy group for motorists, some of whom will have the misfortune to be injured on the road,” Mr Hodgson said.

“RACQ is a big insurer and its call for a defined benefits scheme is in truth a call for a smashing of rights and benefits for those people who have had the misfortune to be injured, often through no fault of their own.

“That detriment to RACQ members reflects perfectly how the RACQ insurance company tail wags the advocacy dog” he said.

What is a Statutory Claim Vrs Common Law Claim for Work Injury Compensation Matters.

Revolution Law2022-06-28T17:17:59+10:0023/04/2018|Civil, General|

What is a Statutory Claim Vrs Common Law Claim for Work Injury Compensation Matters.

Many workers are confused when it comes to their rights in a work place accident and understanding that there are two types of claims that can occur in a Workers Compensation matter.

A flow chat that shows the workcover statutory process

The first claim that you will make if you have been injured at work or on your way to work is called a Statutory Claim. This claim is started when you fill in an application and lodge it with WorkCover or your employer’s self-insurer. It is more than likely your employer will hold their accident insurance policy with WorkCover. Once WorkCover has approved your claim you will start being able to receiving benefits which may include weekly compensation for lost wages, rehabilitation and medical treatment, travel costs and funeral and death benefits. To finalise the Statutory Claim, WorkCover may assess you for a permanent impairment percentage and then make you a small lump sum offer to compensate you for injuries.

This is the crucial point in which you need to seek legal advice from one of our personal injury lawyers. If you have been assessed with a permanent impairment of 20% and above, then you will be able to both accept the lump sum offer from the statutory claim and then you may also be able to proceed to running a common law claim as well. Should you have been assessed with a permanent impairment of 20% and under, then you will have to decide whether you wish to proceed with a common law claim which would mean you have to reject the lump sum offer of the statutory claim. We will provide you with free advice on what your options are going forward to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve.

The second claim that you may be proceed to is called the Common Law Claim.You cannot make a common law claim without first having made a statutory claim. While a statutory claim is a no fault scheme which does not look at who is liable for the accident and simply protects a worker in the event of an accident, a common law claim does consider who is at fault for the injury. For a common law claim to be successful your employer’s negligence needs to be proven in their breach of their duty to provide a safe and supervised work environment.

Our job as expert Workers Compensation Lawyers is to smoothly run a workers’ compensation claim and obtain you the maximum settlement amount to compensate you for the injuries you have sustained at work. This area of law is extremely complicated and it is risky to attempt running the claim yourself self as it could even mean you end up with little or no compensation. We cannot stress the importance of seeking expert advice even if it is just for a free initial meeting to discuss your personal injury. After all it is your right to be able to go to work and return home again without suffering an injury.

To speak to a Lawyer immediately call our office on 07 3416 4999.

Brisbane and Logan E-Scooters

When Are You Too Old to Drive?

How Ageing Affects Driving

Do Medications Affect Driving?

When is Too Old to Drive?

Have You Been Involved in a Car Accident? Speak to Your Local Revolution Law Team Today

Insurers Scaremongering Queenslanders blaming Lawyers for Premium rises

What is a Statutory Claim Vrs Common Law Claim for Work Injury Compensation Matters.

ASK ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TODAY

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ASK ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TODAY

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email

closest office

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