“The head injuries can be life-altering or life-threatening for the patient and their families,” he said.
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“Superficial friction burns, are often, believe it or not, even more painful than full thickness burns. For young adolescents, if they get a friction burn or laceration to the face, that can have a serious cosmetic effect.”
NSW Ambulance paramedic specialist Marty Nichols said paramedics were also seeing the impacts of speed first hand, including cases where children were unable to stop because of weather conditions or poor grip on tyres. He agreed riders not wearing helmets was leading to “severe injuries and bad outcomes”.
Nichols urged parents to make sure their child was mature enough to know how to adjust their speed to conditions, follow road rules and realise the importance of wearing a helmet.
“They would be the first things I’d be having a discussion with my child about before letting them on a bike,” he said.
There have been at least five e-bike related deaths in NSW this year. A 65-year-old male pedestrian was killed after being hit by an e-bike in Toongabbie in October. In July, a 14-year-old boy was killed coming off his bike, which his parents purchased online and believed was an e-bike but was actually closer to a motorbike in its construction.
Last Tuesday, Premier Chris Minns announced e-bike power limits would be lowered from 500 watts to 250 watts in NSW. The announcement came in the moments after a share-bike rider was fatally hit by a garbage truck at Haymarket. There is no suggestion the e-bike rider was speeding or riding an overpowered bike.
The power cap brings NSW into line with other states. However, the biggest change for e-bikes will be when the federal government develops its promised new product standards for importing and selling of e-bikes, which are expected within months.
Those changes will follow the European EN15194 standard, which requires an e-bike to have a motor that cuts off at 25km/h, a 250 watt power limit, and to be pedalled rather than relying on a throttle alone.
It is expected that bikes which do not meet those standards will not be able to be sold as e-bikes in Australia, and will need to be reclassified, probably as motorbikes. The government is yet to announce what this change means for those who already own the 500-watt bikes, but Minns said older bikes may be grandfathered into the new rules.
E-bike modifications a common occurrence, retailers say
E-bike retailers are also concerned by the safety risks of riding powerful bikes, warning the bikes are too easily modified.
Yifang Cao, owner of Lithium Bikes in Burwood, said, through modifications, some riders had been able to super-charge their e-bikes, making them dangerously fast or “mini-motorbikes”.
“This is just too much power – they don’t need it. It means they don’t need to pedal anymore, but that is dangerous,” Cao said. “They’ve found a loophole to build these mini-motorbikes, but they don’t have licences for it, no training, nothing.”
Cao wants to see a new type of licence introduced, complete with specific fines, demerit points and greater education across the state on how e-bikes should behave on the road.
Yifang Cao at work at his e-bike dealership in Burwood.Credit: Sam Mooy
Blackman Bicycles’ Graham Douglas, who has sold bikes for more than 40 years, said he had never seen anything as dangerous as the now-popular modification kits which allow purchasers to bypass safety limits and reach higher speeds.
“Parents will come in and ask for them, and we have to inform them that some of the changes they are thinking about will push a bike beyond the 25km/h speed limit, and that they could be quite dangerous,” the Parramatta bike retailer said.
“But they don’t seem to care – they just do what their children demand. It’s madness.”
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Douglas said some of the modifications could boost a bike’s maximum speed to more than 80km/h, especially dangerous when its brakes are meant to only withstand speeds of under 25km/h.
Australian Lawyers Alliance’s Andrew Stone, SC, warned parents could also be leaving themselves open to costly lawsuits if their child caused an e-bike accident.
“If you run somebody over and break their leg and they can’t work again, a lawyer on their behalf may come after your family home as the asset available to meet the damages that have been caused,” he said.
Critics say tougher bans needed
E-bike Safety Australia director Ben Horwood believes removing throttles from bikes is the only policy measure that will immediately reduce injuries and make life easier for police trying to enforce the rules.
“Getting rid of throttles is something you could do today. All the wheelies that happen, all the weaving through traffic, that will stop the second there’s no throttle,” he said.
To be legal in NSW, a bike’s throttle must tap out at 6km/h, but most popular fat bike brands include a throttle isolator that allows riders to easily turn that limit off.
While visiting schools with his organisation’s education program, which runs in NSW and Queensland, Horwood said he had seen bikes with rusted chains or missing pedals – clear evidence the children aren’t using any pedal power, he says.
Children who complete the program get a number plate for the back of their bike identifying their school, which Horwood says encourages kids to ride to and from school safely.
The NSW government does not support a licensing scheme for e-bikes, but the idea is gaining traction in beachside electorates where locals are frustrated by a lack of compliance.
Independent Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby wants to see a licence requirement similar to a boat licence, requiring riders to register their bikes.
E-bikes parked at Mackellar Girls High School in Manly Vale. Credit: Ava Reijasse
Liberal federal member for Cook Simon Kennedy said Sutherland Shire locals, especially older Cronulla residents, no longer felt safe around the Cronulla Mall, where e-bikes are common.
In his electorate, a three-year-old boy’s leg was broken when he was hit by an e-bike.
Kennedy believes a trade-in scheme where riders swap their illegal bikes for ones that comply with NSW law could improve safety. New York City recently ran a similar scheme for food delivery riders, aimed at reducing the risk of fires caused by non-compliant lithium batteries.
How to buy a safe e-bike
In addition to the risk of traumatic injury, e-bikes rely on lithium-ion batteries, which can fail if not stored properly or if overcharged – especially if coming from a dodgy manufacturer. The NSW Coroners Court will hold hearings into deaths caused by these fires in coming months.
But while e-bikes can pose safety risks, their popularity among Sydney kids also mean more children are getting out of the house and participating in physical activity, Westmead’s Soundappan said.
“These are not bad things. We’re seeing a lot of children outdoors, they’re not indoors playing on their computers or watching television. It’s how we are using them … people need to realise the risks.”
The key piece of advice from the state government is to look for the European safety standard’s EN15194 sticker when buying an e-bike this Christmas.
“Our message to parents is simple: check the sticker, check the wattage and have a conversation with your kids about staying safe,” NSW Transport Minister John Graham said.
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