Top cop reveals ‘reckless’ youths on dangerous e-bikes can’t be chased

A top cop says police are facing an uphill battle to control reckless young e-bike riders who can’t be pursued because of the risk they or someone else could be killed or seriously hurt.

A community meeting on e-bikes on the southern Gold Coast.

A top cop says police are facing an uphill battle to control reckless young e-bike riders who flee “like cockroaches” when officers approach and can’t be pursued because of the risk they or someone else could be killed or seriously hurt.

The revelation came at an e-bike safety summit on the Gold Coast where a senior Transport and Main Roads official also admitted he was “genuinely scared” about the dangers posed by e-bikes after a recent visit to the Glitter Strip with his young family.

Dozens of residents attended the town hall meeting at Elanora, organised by Crisafulli government minister Laura Gerber, to vent concerns about high-speed e-bikes which are tearing up South East Queensland roads and footpaths in rapidly increasing numbers, leading to dangerous collisions and terrifying near-misses.

Coast police chief superintendent Craig Hanlon said eight e-device riders died on Queensland roads last year and more than 700 had presented to Gold Coast University Hospital with injuries – a 471 per cent increase in four years.

Superintendent Craig Hanlon and MP Laura Gerber speak to the crowd. .

“Doctors and nurses are getting tired with the significant rise in people being injured because of these devices,” he said.

Supt Hanlon said police had launched a number of operations targeting e-bike riders but officers could not pursue them because “the risk is too great”.

He said highway patrol officers who attended a local McDonald’s last weekend were confronted with about 100 young e-bike riders who “ran like cockroaches”.

TMR road rules manager Nick Mackay said he had witnessed first-hand “how bad” the e-bike problem was when he stayed at Rainbow Bay over Christmas with his family.

“I’ve got a couple of young kids and there were times when I was genuinely scared walking with my two kids on the Oceanway (beachfront footpath),” he told the meeting.

Mr Mackay said the biggest problem was illegal e-bikes “capable of incredible acceleration”, which the meeting heard had flooded into Australia.

“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,” he said.

“They are, in effect, motorcycles.”

He said people caught riding illegal e-bikes could be fined up to $1580, while parents who allowed their children to ride them had also been fined. The bikes could also be impounded.

Mrs Gerber said her office has been inundated with concerned residents calling for change after witnessing terrifying incidents on local roads and footpaths.

Nick Mackay talks at the forum.

She said the southern Gold Coast had seen several serious incidents in recent months, “including occasions where young kids were almost mowed down by dangerous e-bike riders”.

“The meeting heard there were 300 e-bikes at one local high school alone – many of them illegal – and one resident said police should simply confiscate them.

Another said schools needed to stop allowing children to park their illegal e-bikes as happened in NSW.

Supt Hanlon said police were trying to work with children and teenagers to educate them.

Southern Gold Coast city councillor Gail O’Neill said speed limits for e-scooters had been lowered to 12km/h but remained at a “really dangerous” 25km/h for e-bikes.

She said she had written to the state government calling for e-bike speeds to be reduced on shared pathways like the popular Oceanway.

Local resident Pauline Kershaw told the meeting that the concerns around e-bikes were not being addressed.

“You walk on the Oceanway and someone comes whizzing past on an e-bike, you cannot hear them, you don’t know they’re there,” she said.

“This is the issue. Why are they using their electrics on a shared pathway? Why can’t that be banned?

“It’s happening every day. Kids are using their bikes as though they’re a motor vehicle. There are major issues on the Gold Coast that need to be addressed, and that’s why people are here.

“The rules aren’t being abided by. I’ve seen little kids that are six and eight with e-bikes, riding through red lights.”

Mrs Gerber said the meeting was “just the beginning of the conversation” about the e-bike menace.

“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.

“I recently launched a community survey to gather local perspectives on e-bikes, and within just four days, we received over 150 responses.

“There is clearly a need to bolster education, enforcement and planning around e-bike safety in our community and that’s why I called tonight’s forum – to listen to the experiences and suggestions of the local community.”

Originally published as Top cop reveals ‘reckless’ youths on dangerous e-bikes can’t be chased