Latest news with #9News
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Aussie council's $50,000 move prompts worried dad to scour roads for weeks
An Aussie dad has spent the last few weeks scouring every roadside in his suburb in dreaded anticipation of a new arrival — e-scooters. Matthew Zammit is fighting to keep the controversial mode of transportation off the streets of north Melbourne after the Darebin City Council revealed a $50,000 trial of share hire e-scooters and e-bikes would kick off in June. The decision caused waves when it was announced late last year, just a week after the City of Melbourne voted to ditch the electronic two-wheelers following a string of complaints. At the time, Darebin's then-mayor Susanne Newton told the ABC that despite safety concerns, she believed the benefits of the trial would outweigh the risks, and that she was 'pretty comfortable' with the technology hire companies have in place. However, Zammit disagrees, arguing residents will undoubtedly 'get hurt'. 'You hit a pothole on [an e-scooter] and all the weight is up the back, so it becomes like a lever and just catapults you forward, headfirst into whatever's in front of you,' he told 9News. Since their introduction in Australia in 2018, e-scooters have become a hotly-contested subject due to soaring rates of serious injuries and fatal collisions, including a Perth dad who was recently hit by one as he walked to pick up dinner. He died several days later, on June 3, in hospital. From January, 2020 to April this year, there have been 30 fatalities nationwide, with more than 10 of them being children. Staggering research from the University of Melbourne revealed that one in three e-scooter deaths in the last five years have been children, prompting a plea to parents not to buy the electric scooters for their kids. 'They end up with lots of soft tissue and facial fractures, sometimes half or all of their teeth missing, and unfortunately sometimes really significant head injuries,' Dr Sarah Whitelaw from the Royal Melbourne Hospital said. Earlier this week, Yahoo News published heart-stopping dashcam footage of a Queensland child's very close call after she suddenly swerved in front of a car while riding an e-scooter without a helmet. Driver Emma Ogilvie said the incident left her feeling 'so shaken'. 'She's just lucky I pay attention when I drive and I saw her. It could've been a lot worse, and although it would't have been my fault, I couldn't live with myself if anything else happened,' she told Yahoo. Zammit, a survivor of road trauma, has created a petition to urge Darebin City Council to reverse what he says is an 'expensive and harmful' decision. 'As a result of this road trauma I live with significant disabilities, including an acquired brain injury,' he wrote on the website. 'It has changed the course of my life, and I am startled by the level of brain injury being inflicted on others due to shared e-scooters.' Speaking to 9News, Zammit said the last thing he wants is to see someone else be severely injured or killed while riding an e-scooter on his local streets. 'You see statistics of people seriously injured on roads and you can very easily just see a number, but each one of those serious injuries is a long journey of recovery,' he said. 'And in many cases, you're not going back to what you were. You're not getting back what you had... your life has changed forever.' 🚘 Dashcam captures driver's 'heart attack' e-scooter moment in front of car 🧒 Urgent plea to Aussie parents over deadly e-scooter trend 👀 Little-known road rule could see you lose your licence Darebin's new mayor Kristin Olaris has insisted the council is 'putting safety and accessibility at the centre' of its impending trial, according to 9News. Peter McLean, CEO of Bicycle NSW, told Yahoo there are multiple factors that contribute to e-scooter and e-bike safety, including government regulations, police enforcement and parental responsibility. 'E-scooter sales have been significantly increasing over time and tens of thousands of them are being sold each and every year across Australia,' he said. 'They do provide a significant improvement in autonomous transport and transportation, which is very, very positive. However, we do have to be very, very careful how we use them. 'If you're not riding them correctly then they are extremely dangerous and will undoubtedly injure the user and of course, other road users as well.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Aussie council's $50,000 move prompts worried dad to scour roadsides for weeks
An Aussie dad has spent the last few weeks scouring every roadside in his suburb in dreaded anticipation of a new arrival — e-scooters. Matthew Zammit is fighting to keep the controversial mode of transportation off the streets of north Melbourne after the Darebin City Council revealed a $50,000 trial of share hire e-scooters and e-bikes would kick off in June. The decision caused waves when it was announced late last year, just a week after the City of Melbourne voted to ditch the electronic two-wheelers following a string of complaints. At the time, Darebin's then-mayor Susanne Newton told the ABC that despite safety concerns, she believed the benefits of the trial would outweigh the risks, and that she was 'pretty comfortable' with the technology hire companies have in place. However, Zammit disagrees, arguing residents will undoubtedly 'get hurt'. 'You hit a pothole on [an e-scooter] and all the weight is up the back, so it becomes like a lever and just catapults you forward, headfirst into whatever's in front of you,' he told 9News. Since their introduction in Australia in 2018, e-scooters have become a hotly-contested subject due to soaring rates of serious injuries and fatal collisions, including a Perth dad who was recently hit by one as he walked to pick up dinner. He died several days later, on June 3, in hospital. From January, 2020 to April this year, there have been 30 fatalities nationwide, with more than 10 of them being children. Staggering research from the University of Melbourne revealed that one in three e-scooter deaths in the last five years have been children, prompting a plea to parents not to buy the electric scooters for their kids. 'They end up with lots of soft tissue and facial fractures, sometimes half or all of their teeth missing, and unfortunately sometimes really significant head injuries,' Dr Sarah Whitelaw from the Royal Melbourne Hospital said. Earlier this week, Yahoo News published heart-stopping dashcam footage of a Queensland child's very close call after she suddenly swerved in front of a car while riding an e-scooter without a helmet. Driver Emma Ogilvie said the incident left her feeling 'so shaken'. 'She's just lucky I pay attention when I drive and I saw her. It could've been a lot worse, and although it would't have been my fault, I couldn't live with myself if anything else happened,' she told Yahoo. Zammit, a survivor of road trauma, has created a petition to urge Darebin City Council to reverse what he says is an 'expensive and harmful' decision. 'As a result of this road trauma I live with significant disabilities, including an acquired brain injury,' he wrote on the website. 'It has changed the course of my life, and I am startled by the level of brain injury being inflicted on others due to shared e-scooters.' Speaking to 9News, Zammit said the last thing he wants is to see someone else be severely injured or killed while riding an e-scooter on his local streets. 'You see statistics of people seriously injured on roads and you can very easily just see a number, but each one of those serious injuries is a long journey of recovery,' he said. 'And in many cases, you're not going back to what you were. You're not getting back what you had... your life has changed forever.' 🚘 Dashcam captures driver's 'heart attack' e-scooter moment in front of car 🧒 Urgent plea to Aussie parents over deadly e-scooter trend 👀 Little-known road rule could see you lose your licence Darebin's new mayor Kristin Olaris has insisted the council is 'putting safety and accessibility at the centre' of its impending trial, according to 9News. Peter McLean, CEO of Bicycle NSW, told Yahoo there are multiple factors that contribute to e-scooter and e-bike safety, including government regulations, police enforcement and parental responsibility. 'E-scooter sales have been significantly increasing over time and tens of thousands of them are being sold each and every year across Australia,' he said. 'They do provide a significant improvement in autonomous transport and transportation, which is very, very positive. However, we do have to be very, very careful how we use them. 'If you're not riding them correctly then they are extremely dangerous and will undoubtedly injure the user and of course, other road users as well.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
9 News
14 hours ago
- 9 News
Man gets Mercedes stuck on world-famous Roman landmark
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here An 80-year-old man drove a compact luxury Mercedes-Benz A Class sedan down the landmark Spanish Steps in Rome this week before getting stuck partway down, municipal police said in a statement. The man tested negative for alcohol, and was cited on the spot for driving down the monument in Rome's historic centre, police said. Police said the man, a resident of Rome, was at a loss to explain how he had wound up driving down the famed steps. An 80-year-old driver in Rome managed to get his Mercedes stuck on the city's famed Spanish Steps. (9News) They did not release his name and it was unclear if the car was his. The small sporty car was later removed by firefighters using a crane. Police did not respond to requests for more details about the dynamics of the apparent accident. One of Rome's most recognisable monuments, the Spanish Steps have never been intended for motor vehicles, although some thrill seekers have tried their luck. A Saudi man was charged with aggravated damage to cultural heritage after a surveillance camera recorded him driving a rented Maserati down the 135 travertine steps in 2022. The Spanish Steps take their name from the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in the nearby square. A famed background for numerous films, they were built in the 1720s and have long been a popular spot to people watch and hang out. rome accidents driving Italy Europe World CONTACT US Property News: The last inner Sydney suburbs where houses cost under $2m.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Bali flights resume after volcano eruption
Latest posts Latest posts 9.47am Bali flights resume after volcano eruption Flights to Indonesia are resuming after an active volcano on the archipelagic nation erupted, sending plumes of ash more than 11 kilometres into the atmosphere. The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano on Flores erupted on Tuesday, throwing air travel in the region into chaos. Dozens of flights to the popular holiday island of Bali, which is about 800 kilometres west of Flores, were cancelled, including two from Perth, with more delayed. Denpasar's Ngurah Rai International Airport has since released a statement confirming flights had resumed and conditions were expected to remain clear. Aviation expert Ellis Taylor told 9News Perth ash was 'terrible' for plane engines to ingest. 'It can actually turn into glass and cause the engines to seize,' he said. Taylor urged travellers with Bali plans to contact their airline before setting off to catch their flight. 9.47am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making news elsewhere today. The US military was prepared to execute any order President Donald Trump might give on matters of war and peace, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said overnight, even as he declined to confirm preparations were under way for a potential US strike on Iran. Follow our live coverage of developments in the Middle East here. A Sydney plumber is among three Australians who have been charged with murder in Indonesia over the shooting of two Melbourne men at a luxury villa in Bali on the weekend. An Australian firm that made huge profits running the federal government's offshore detention regime is suspected of defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars to insure designer jewellery, expensive art, investment properties and luxury vehicles – including a $600,000 supercar and a 40-foot cruising yacht. Australian universities have slipped in global rankings after a 'turbulent year', with experts branding it a wake-up call as growing competition in the region and the politicisation of international students pose a threat to progress.
The Age
a day ago
- Business
- The Age
WA news LIVE: Bali flights resume after volcano eruption
Latest posts Latest posts 9.47am Bali flights resume after volcano eruption Flights to Indonesia are resuming after an active volcano on the archipelagic nation erupted, sending plumes of ash more than 11 kilometres into the atmosphere. The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano on Flores erupted on Tuesday, throwing air travel in the region into chaos. Dozens of flights to the popular holiday island of Bali, which is about 800 kilometres west of Flores, were cancelled, including two from Perth, with more delayed. Denpasar's Ngurah Rai International Airport has since released a statement confirming flights had resumed and conditions were expected to remain clear. Aviation expert Ellis Taylor told 9News Perth ash was 'terrible' for plane engines to ingest. 'It can actually turn into glass and cause the engines to seize,' he said. Taylor urged travellers with Bali plans to contact their airline before setting off to catch their flight. 9.47am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making news elsewhere today. The US military was prepared to execute any order President Donald Trump might give on matters of war and peace, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said overnight, even as he declined to confirm preparations were under way for a potential US strike on Iran. Follow our live coverage of developments in the Middle East here. A Sydney plumber is among three Australians who have been charged with murder in Indonesia over the shooting of two Melbourne men at a luxury villa in Bali on the weekend. An Australian firm that made huge profits running the federal government's offshore detention regime is suspected of defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars to insure designer jewellery, expensive art, investment properties and luxury vehicles – including a $600,000 supercar and a 40-foot cruising yacht. Australian universities have slipped in global rankings after a 'turbulent year', with experts branding it a wake-up call as growing competition in the region and the politicisation of international students pose a threat to progress.
