A trauma expert is warning of the dangers of electric scooters after the number of serious injuries almost doubled in Victoria.
The Alfred hospital's trauma centre has treated 49 people in the past year as a result of incidents involving e-scooters and e-bikes.
Of those 18 ended up in intensive care, the Melbourne hospital says.
It's a significant jump on the same time last year, when there were 24 trauma centre admissions and five intensive care cases.
The number of pedestrians admitted to The Alfred's intensive care unit has also reached a five-year high, with 66 people brought in to the ICU in the past 12 months.
"You have a shared space and because the protections are not there, they get poleaxed onto the ground," trauma services acting director Associate Professor Joseph Mathew told AAP.
"There are severe brain injuries associated with it, and severe spinal injuries and pelvic injuries."
An e-scooter rental scheme has been trialled in the City of Melbourne, Port Phillip and Yarra, allowing people to ride in bike lanes, on low-speed roads and shared paths.
There were 131 collisions involving e-scooters between last December and July this year, a Victoria Police spokesperson told AAP.
Some 397 infringement notices were issued to e-scooter riders in the same time frame, with riding on a footpath (117) and failing to wear a helmet (106) the most common offences.
Police warned on Friday fines of $185 were attached to riding on the footpath, and drunk and drug driving penalties also applied to riders.
"There'll be a full evaluation that will take place as to the risk versus the value of the (trial) e-scooters," acting assistant road policing commissioner Justin Goldsmith said.
"The compliance levels (are) probably not where we want them to be."
Police would be running dedicated e-scooter compliance operations over the next couple of months, particularly in the CBD and coming into warmer weather, Mr Goldsmith said.
"There really isn't any excuse for not complying with the regulations," he said.
"You should have full awareness of that (and) you should take personal responsibility for that."
A 20-year-old e-scooter rider died in February this year after he collided with a station wagon on the Princes Highway in Narre Warren, southeast of Melbourne.
Simple measures like avoiding alcohol or drugs before riding and wearing a helmet can ensure everyone stays safe, Prof Matthew said.
"Our perspective is not to control and not to say you don't need to use an e-scooter.
"We are saying you need to use them responsibility. We have a responsibility to one another."
Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes implored e-scooter riders to follow the law.
"Don't ride on the footpath because you're subjecting yourself to danger and worse you're subjecting other people to danger," she told reporters.
