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Several organisations have joined forces to call on the Queensland government to ramp up enforcement to get dangerous and illegal electric motorbikes off streets and footpaths.
It comes after Zeke Hondow, an eight-year-old boy, died on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday, after crashing head-on with a 15-year-old rider.
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Sunshine Coast police chief inspector Jason Overland described the bikes involved as “electric powered”, and said the crash investigation would include determining how much power they produced.
A 15-year-old boy died two days later after crashing a SurRon Ultra Bee electric dirt bike on Broadbeach Boulevard in Broadbeach just after 3am. A SurRon Ultra Bee retails for about $10,000 and has a top speed of 95km/h.
The push is being supported by the RACQ, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Motor Trades Association of Queensland, Bicycle Queensland and Queensland Walks.
Premier David Crisafulli has resisted pressure to make changes to existing rules before Christmas, saying the government would wait for the results of a parliamentary inquiry, which is due to report by March 30.
But RACQ head of public policy Dr Michael Kane said solutions were already available.
“The laws exist to end this epidemic – they just need to be consistently enforced,” he said.
“Under current legislation, authorised officers such as police and transport inspectors can issue defect notices and impound illegal vehicles.
“We’re calling on the state government to get tough on people breaking the law by impounding all illegal and dangerous two-wheel electric vehicles.”
To be used in public, an e-bike must be predominantly pedal-powered, with a small electric motor providing assistance only, up to 250 watts, and the motor must cut out at 25km/h.
A motorised bike cannot be ridden on a public road or paths if it is petrol-powered, if the electric motor helps you travel faster than 25km/h, if the bike has non-functioning pedals or if you twist a throttle and ride it only using the motor.
