Back in 1983 a film about some young hoodlums tearing around the streets of Manly launched the career of Nicole Kidman. She played Judy, fired from her job collecting trolleys on Sydney’s northern beaches.
She falls in with the BMX Bandits who fall afoul of the law then help the clueless cops capture the villains. The film provides a great image of 80s suburban Sydney and a snapshot of a moment of teenage freedom and rebellion on two wheels.
Teenagers always seem to cop it when they get access to something new and exciting and build a new culture around it. Right now we are witnessing something similar with the eBike craze.
We, the responsible adults, have, through negligence, let kids get hold of dangerous electric motorbikes and are now making them take the blame. NSW is even seizing and crushing the toys we let them have.
I am an eBike rider, as is my wife. We are liberated from car ownership. We rent safe and legal eBikes from Lug & Carry. This is our primary mode of transport. These are eBikes as defined under Victorian law, which states that an Electric Power Assisted Bicycle (EPAC) must have a motor of no more than 250W, and the motor must cut out at 25km/h.
Two Classes of eBike
There are two classes of eBike: the EPAC or pedelec, where power is only applied when you turn the pedals with a throttle limited to 6km/h walk mode; and the power-assisted bicycle with a throttle all the way to 25km/h but limited to a lower power rating of 200W.
Cross the border into NSW and the rules are different, with bikes allowed up to 500W. Rules have slowly been harmonised around the European EN15194 standard.
500W eBikes is a problem cooked up by the federal and NSW governments, who increased the allowed power without really looking into the implications or restricting higher power outputs to heavier cargo bikes, as is common in some jurisdictions.
I would argue that 250W is too low for some types of bikes. Heavier cargo bikes should be allowed higher-output motors to be practical. However, what is at issue here is throttles and speed. I’ve always been slightly sceptical of throttles on eBikes, full stop. Put a throttle on it and you have a motorbike.
Speed is a problem. 25km/h for the limit of assistance is very sensible—it’s a reasonable speed to be going around town, and if you want to go faster you can push the pedals harder. Anyone who has seen teenagers or delivery riders zipping around town will have noticed many going much faster than 25km/h with no effort going into the pedals at all.
The Real Problem: Enforcement and Standards
It is trivial to change or remove the speed limit in software on many eBikes, and many of the eBikes being sold are overpowered. Do this and an eBike becomes an electric motorbike and falls into a completely different category, requiring a completely different set of skills and personal protective equipment.
So how are the kids able to buy them at all? The problem is that Australian product safety laws are a messy patchwork involving many different agencies: from the ACCC, State Fair Trading Agencies, State Electrical Safety Agencies, the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) managed by Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council (ERAC), Regulatory Compliance Mark Scheme managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and Border Force. Noting that only four states (QLD, VIC, WA, and TAS) fully participate in the EESS.
Manufacturers and importers, wholesalers, retailers, marketplace platforms, and delivery platforms all bear, if not legal liability, then some moral responsibility.
For manufacturers and importers the responsibility is pretty clear: you have safety compliance responsibilities under the EESS, and under Australian Consumer Law you have a responsibility to ensure something is fit for purpose and a strict liability for safety defects.
Similarly, wholesalers and retailers bear responsibility for ensuring the products they are passing through the supply chain are safe and fit for purpose. It’s where you get to the marketplace platforms that things get problematic.
Kogan, eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, etc. have been around for years, but now practically every shop has a marketplace, including major brands like Woolworths and Coles. A quick search of BIG W found a 500W eBike for $1,699, and there were no issues selecting it for delivery in Melbourne. There is an alarming notice on the page that states:
‘Important Notice: Before using this vehicle, please check the applicable local laws relating to your intended use of the vehicle on roads and road-related areas.’
This puts the onus on the consumer to determine what is safe and what is not, what is legal and what is not. Which is also what John Graham, minister for transport, wants parents to do. On ABC RN Breakfast he put the responsibility on parents to navigate the patchwork of standards and responsibilities to determine what is a safe bike for their kids to ride.
What We Need
What Australia lacks is a clear standard, a clear mark, like the RCM, that determines that a personal mobility device is safe and compliant.
There is also a good case to be made for higher-powered eBikes and cargo bikes, either through a power-to-weight regulation or through a moped or scooter-type approval that comes with some degree of lightweight licensing and training.
Of course we need to police dangerous and illegal riding—we have laws for that already. As a cyclist I’m all in favour of much more rigorous enforcement of road safety laws.
Kids, teenagers, young adults should have access to this technology. Personal mobility devices are liberating right now in enabling the freedom to socialise, to work, to go to school. It’s also setting people up for a life free of car dependency and the costs of an unnecessary and polluting asset, if they choose to stay free of car ownership. Cycling is habit-forming.
Judy and friends bombing around Manly on their BMXs was a window into that freedom. The kids are alright, they just need safer toys.