‘Like cockroaches’: Gold Coast police rage over $3.5k bikes
Over 100 teens riding e-bikes fled “like cockroaches” after cops tried to apprehend the group on the Gold Coast - as debate about the expensive new toy rages.
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Fed-up cops have met with dozens of parents on the Gold Coast as debate rages over the influx of teens recklessly riding expensive e-bikes.
Electric bikes, which can cost as much as $5,000, have soared in popularity in affluent beachside suburbs in NSW and Queensland over the last 12 months.
But their rapid rise in popularity has flooded roads and footpaths and led to an increase in collisions, with police admitting they are often powerless to pursue young riders.
Parents gathered at a packed e-bike safety summit on the Gold Coast this week, organised by Liberal member for Currumbin, Laura Gerber, to shaire their concerns.
Gold Coast Police Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said medics were “getting tired with the significant rise in people being injured because of these devices.”
On Queensland roads alone, eight e-bike riders died in 2024 and more than 700 presented with injuries to Gold Coast University Hospital – a 471 per cent increase since 2020.
A NSW Police spokesperson said officers had noted a similar increase in the use of e-bikes in Sydney, but was unable to provide specific fine or incident figures.
“NSW Police, including Traffic & Highway Patrol Command officers, conduct multiple public safety operations in relation to education and enforcement for e-bike, push bike and pedestrian safety,” they told news.com.au in a statement.
“Police have regular operations around Sydney’s CBD and beaches focused on educating e-bike riders on safe riding practices.
“Care and consideration needs to be taken when riding bicycles and e-bikes, particularly in built-up areas with high pedestrian and vehicle movements.
“Enforcement action can be taken on e-bike riders.”
Only electrically power-assisted cycles and power-assisted pedal cycles are permitted in NSW.
While Gold Coast police have launched a number of operations targeting riders, Supt Hanlon said they often couldn’t be pursued because “the risk is too great”, given the speed the bikes can travel at. The current speed limit for e-bikes is 25km/h.
He pointed to one such incident last weekend, when highway patrol officers were confronted with close to 100 young riders at a local McDonald’s.
When police arrived, the teens “ran like cockroaches”.
Transport and Main Roads road rules manager, Nick Mackay, told the meeting illegal e-bikes, imported from overseas and “capable of incredible acceleration” presented the biggest problem. Those caught riding one could be fined up to $1580, as can parents who allow their children to use them.
“These are the ones that shouldn’t be on our paths or our roads; they shouldn’t be sold, they shouldn’t be coming into the country,” Mr Mackay said.
“They are, in effect, motorcycles.”
One of the meeting’s attendees, Michelle Faye, echoed the sentiment, calling for “legislative change to ban illegal e-bikes outright – no loopholes, no grey areas”.
“By banning their use entirely, we can take the next step: stopping their import and making them completely illegal,” she wrote on Facebook, adding that “law is being ignored and authorities are struggling to keep up”.
“When authorities find them, they should be destroyed – just like other illegal and dangerous vehicles.”
Ms Gerber said her office had been inundated with concerned residents who had witnessed serious collisions between the bikes and members of the public, “including occasions where young kids were almost mowed down by dangerous e-bike riders”.
“The dangerous operation of e-bikes has been one of the most frequently raised issues with my office and I will make sure voices are heard and if changes need to happen to ensure the safety of Currumbin residents, I will fight for those changes,” she said.
“There is clearly a need to bolster education, enforcement and planning around e-bike safety in our community and that’s why I called (Wednesday’s) forum – to listen to the experiences and suggestions of the local community.”
The founder of prominent Australian e-bike manufacturer, DiRodi’s Pasha Golshani, told news.com.au last week that the bikes offer teens “independence from their parents for transportation” and get them “out from in front of screens”.
DiRodi’s most popular model – the Rover – retails at just under $3500 and features a powerful Samsung battery, leather seat and rear rack for lifts.
Sales correlate strongly with “proximity to the beach, higher average household income and regions with good weather through the year”, Mr Golshani said.
As such, his best-selling suburbs in 2024 were Manly, Wollongong and Newcastle in NSW and Noosa, the Gold Coast and Brisbane in Queensland.
The Gold Coast and Sydney have also proved the most popular markets for electric bike brand Ampd Bros, co-founder Corey Keats said.
“These regions embrace the outdoor lifestyle, making them hotspots for e-bike popularity,” he said.
Originally published as ‘Like cockroaches’: Gold Coast police rage over $3.5k bikes
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