Gold Coast police launch road blitz to target drink and drug driving and e-bikes

An officer has shared a stern warning to anyone planning to use e-bikes on the Gold Coast, part of a road policing blitz this school holidays.

E-bikes incidents on the Gold Coast have become more common. Photo: Supplied,

A police officer has shared a stern warning to those planning to use e-bikes on the Gold Coast this school holidays.

On Monday, Superintendent Brett Jackson said officers across the Gold Coast would be on high alert over the Easter break.

One of their priorities would be keeping an eye on people riding e-bikes and e-scooters on Gold Coast roads and pathways.

“We will see a lot more foot traffic from tourists and the public getting out and enjoying the great weather we have at the moment,” Supt Jackson said.

“That means our footpaths are shared by both pedestrians and people using bicycles and e-bikes and we need to make sure people are adhering to the laws.”

Supt Jackson said police and the Queensland Ambulance Department had attended a lot of e-bike injuries on the Gold Coast.

“We’ve had reports from Queensland Health in relation to presentations at hospital when they come off these e-vehicles – which are travelling at some good speeds – there is some significant head injuries,” he said.

Gold Coast Police Superintendent Brett Jackson. Picture: Alex Treacy

In a message to parents and grandparents of youths who ride e-bikes, Supt Jackson said “there is no second chances when it comes to head injuries”.

“Cherish your loved ones,” he said.

According to Queensland laws, e-bikes cannot go faster than 25km/h on roads and 12km/h on footpaths.

In February, this masthead reported senior traffic cops were “losing the battle” when policing electric motorcycles as riders who could outrun officers were unlikely to face consequences.

However, those who do the wrong thing are unlikely to get off scot-free.

“There is a lot of cameras and CCTV networks on the Gold Coast, so we use investigative strategies to identify people doing the wrong thing,” Supt Jackson said.

“When it comes to identifying juveniles on some of these e-motorcycles it can be a case ... of the parents themselves may receive a knock on the door from police because they are permitting the use of an unregistered motor-vehicle.

“So we do follow up on investigations.

“At the time, sure, we will put public safety first and we may not pursue a juvenile on a motor vehicle, however that does not mean we won’t investigate and then speak to them and their parents.”

Electric motorcycles such as Sur-Rons (pictured) and Talarias are causing terrible problems for law enforcement, Gold Coast Highway Patrol officers say. Picture: QPS

Supt Jackson said Gold Coast police were also bolstering their presence over the school holidays with large-scale traffic operations.

“We will be doing random breath testing, random drug testing and a lot of safety vehicle compliance checks,” he said.

“This is to make sure any modifications that occurred don’t render that vehicle unsafe.

“We will have that spearheaded by our highway patrol unit and they will be supplemented by uniform officers working 24/seven over this holiday period.”

Supt Jackson said the holiday blitz was a timely reminder to motorists to “drive to the conditions”.

“2024 was our highest road toll since 1973 — we had 300 fatal traffic crashes in Queensland,” he said.

“This year we have lost 65 lives on our Queensland roads and unfortunately five on the Gold Coast.

“We don’t want people to be missing their family over the school holidays and the Easter period.

“Drive to the conditions, adhere to speed limits, don’t drive impaired, don’t be fatigued and make sure you are not distracted when you are behind the wheel.”

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Originally published as Gold Coast police launch road blitz to target drink and drug driving and e-bikes