Our efforts regarding reckless electric bike, motorbike and scooter usage have continued, including sending recommendations from our first responders, local community groups and residents on further measures to increase community safety.
As mentioned in our December 2024 Noosa 360 update, as part of Operation Zappo Stoppie, local police have been focused on this including completing street checks, identifying and warning juveniles, issuing infringements and impounding bikes, as well as charging parents in certain circumstances. As always, we thank our police for their persistence, especially since the new laws came into effect in February 2024.
However, there needs to be more resources provided and legislation implemented to assist them. In response to a letter and a Question on Notice (QON) from Sandy requesting whether consideration is being given to the implementation of registration, third-party insurance coverage and licensing for all users, the new government has recently provided the following respectively:
Excerpt from the Minister for Transport and Main Road’s response to Sandy’s QON
I understand there are genuine community concerns around the improper use of personal mobility devices, such as e-bikes and e-motorcycles.
I am very concerned by the number of illegal e-bikes being used on roads and paths. While this is an issue across Queensland, the situation is particularly prevalent in both the Gold and Sunshine Coast regions. It is unacceptable that vulnerable path users—including children—have been hit and injured. The devices causing these problems are illegal and already banned. The Queensland Police Service (QPS) can issue fines of more than $1580 and three demerit points to users, with some penalties directed towards parents who permit ongoing use by their children. QPS also has impoundment and confiscation powers to seize non-compliant devices for repeat offending.
- Illegal e-bikes can already be enforced using unregistered and uninsured vehicle offences. These are ‘catch-all’ offences to stop illegal, unsafe, and non-compliant vehicles being used in public and the same approach applies across Australia. Legitimising these illegal devices by giving them registration plates will not help—the focus must be on permanently removing illegal devices from Queensland roads and paths.
- Licensing requirements already apply to the use of illegal e-bikes. Riders can be fined or sent to court for riding without a motorcycle licence.
The Queensland Government is committed to cracking down on the use of illegal e-bikes. The Member may seek further information from QPS in relation to actions being taken to crack down on illegal e-bikes. I commend the Member for her advocacy in this space.
Further response from the Minister
My Department is committed to keeping Queenslanders safe and aims to ensure all road and path users uphold their responsibilities, including bicycle, e-bike and personal mobility device (PMD) riders. No level of trauma on Queensland roads is acceptable, with every death and serious injury having long-lasting impacts on individuals, families and communities. I am advised a range of initiatives have been introduced to improve safety for bicycle, e-bike and PMD riders (and in doing so, other road users and pedestrians). Speeding penalties apply for riders who exceed the speed limit and can be viewed on the Queensland Government website at www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/fines/cycling#speeding (for bike riders) and at www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/wheeled-devices/personal-mobility-devices for PMD riders.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is responsible for enforcing all the rules for PMDs and bicycles, including the rules that came into effect on 1 November 2022. In particular, police are able to enforce speeding offences, including the new 12 km/h limit on footpaths, using calibrated speed radar guns. In addition to targeting dangerous riding behaviours, TMR also introduced post-crash obligations for riders. This means that any rider involved in a crash on either a road, path or similar must stay at the scene, exchange details with other people involved in the incident and help any injured person. The rules also require the rider of a PMD who is involved in a crash to stop and provide their particulars, including their name and address, to any other driver involved in the crash, anyone else injured in the crash or the owner of any property damaged in the crash. This requirement also applies to riders of bicycles and e bikes. Significant penalties (up to $19,356) for hit and run incidents apply, and fines of more than $400 can apply for failing to exchange information.
TMR is actively supporting the increased use of signage and physically separated infrastructure and will continue to advocate for all levels of government to accelerate the roll out of physically separated path infrastructure to support safer bike use in high volume corridors. To facilitate increased provision of separated bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, TMR offers Cycle Network Local Government Grants of up to 100 per cent funding for the detailed design stage of ‘priority design treatments’ such as physical separation. You can read more about these grants on the Queensland Government website at www.tmr.qld.gov.au/travel-and-transport/%20cycling/cycling-grants
As part of our continued advocacy and with the ongoing incidents across Queensland including locally a teenage girl in a potentially life-threatening condition after an electric bicycle crash in Peregian Springs, we have sent a submission to the relevant Queensland Ministers for the needed urgent reforms suggested by our community. These, as mentioned earlier, include enhanced awareness and education, enforcement, legislation, insurance, registration for legal electric bikes as well as support for local government to introduce or strengthen local regulations on where these devices can be ridden and ensuring compliance of the 25 km/hr maximum speed restriction at the point of sale. In addition, it needs to be raised with the federal government regarding import controls considering the high number of electric bikes, scooters and motorbikes that do not comply with Australian Design Rules being imported from overseas and being purchased online.
With increased offences occurring in National Parks, Sandy has also raised the need for more enforcement with the Minister for Environment. Below was provided in response:
The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (the department) acknowledges that there has been a marked increase in illegal e-bike use in the National Park and other protected areas on the Sunshine Coast.
The department has advised that most offenders using e-bikes, e-motorbikes and e-scooters within the National Park are minors (under the age of 18), which increases the complexities around compliance and enforcement. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Partnerships (QPWS&P) rangers cannot issue penalty infringement notices (PIN) under the Nature Conservation (Protected Areas Management) Regulation 2024 (the Regulation) to minors and cannot interview minors without a parent or guardian present. However, persons over the age of 18 may be issued a PIN under the Regulation, which can include a $322.00 PIN for riding an unregistered vehicle in a protected area and/or a $483.00 PIN for failure to comply with a regulatory notice.
QPWS&P rangers work with the Queensland Police Service to undertake joint compliance exercises targeting e-bikes within the National Park’s headland and East Weyba sections. Especially over holiday periods, rangers focus on e-bike use to closely monitor for any illegal activity, educate park users and issue PINs as appropriate.
The department, through QPWS&P, has recently erected new regulatory signage at key entry points to the National Park. Cameras have also been installed to monitor the extent and frequency of the activity. Please be assured that QPWS&P is investigating options to make the National Park less accessible to e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-motorbikes, where feasible, although it is impossible to totally exclude them due to their lightweight and ability to go around and/or to be lifted over barriers.
Due to increasing concerns, the Minister has also increased ranger patrols and the training of new authorised officers under the Act. Further on our advocacy regarding this is available at www.sandybolton.com/queensland-parks-and-wildlife-qpws-increased-rangers-patrols-february-2025.
We will continue to update as new information becomes available.
Further information
For our previous Noosa 360 update on electric bikes and scooters, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=Electric+Bikes.