Call for e-bike green slips is worth considering

1 day ago 4

The popular rides of our lives have turned out to be the most lethal.

Our love of SUVs, so-called tradie trucks and Fatboy e-bikes with top speeds of 60km/h have led to a spike in pedestrian deaths and young cyclists being injured – and some killed – in unprecedented numbers over the past year.

With e-bikes looming as the must-have present in the lead-up to last Christmas, Premier Chris Minns moved to limit the damage to NSW teenagers last month by reducing young people’s access to devices that behave more like electric motorbikes than pedal-assisted bicycles, announcing regulations for e-bikes that lowered the maximum battery power from 500 watts to 250 watts and reduced top speed to 30km/h.

Teenagers riding fat-tyre e-bikes in Manly.

The new rules bring our state into line with the rest of the country. NSW is the only state that has introduced laws requiring shared e-bike schemes to be covered by compulsory third-party insurance, but those rules do not apply to privately owned devices.

That may change.

The Herald’s David Barwell reports that NSW doctors and lawyers are pushing to overhaul the state’s compulsory insurance requirements to address a “compensation gap” that leaves uninsured e-bike riders and victims of collisions financially vulnerable.

If the push succeeds, owners of e-bikes could be forced to be covered by the same green slip insurance requirements that apply to other road vehicles.

Barrister Andrew Stone, SC, a member of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said a mandatory scheme would close an insurance loophole that can leave victims of collisions footing expensive medical costs for hospital treatment, rehabilitation and lost income. “E-bikes should be treated just like any other motor vehicle, yet the government is treating them more like children’s toys,” Stone said.

There are thought to be more than a million e-bikes (and e-scooters) in NSW but no registration or licence is required for private compliant e-bikes, and riders are required to follow the same road rules as traditional cyclists, including wearing approved helmets.

NSW Treasury is looking at insurance options for privately owned e-bikes, including different insurance models, the affordability of insurance requirements and the need for people injured by devices to be effectively supported. The new scheme could be running by year’s end.

We have said before that parents and adult riders must take some responsibility. The same holds for delivery drivers who rely on these machines to earn a living. Handing a powerful machine that costs up to $5000 to a teenager with little ability to assess and control risky behaviour is a recipe for trouble.

In 2025, more than 150 people were treated at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney for injuries resulting from e-bike collisions – a 300 per cent rise since 2023 when the Fatboy e-bike craze arrived.

The system permits youngsters with little road knowledge or road sense to zoom about, endangering themselves and others. It’s a complicated area, but the mounting physical, mental and financial costs flowing from e-bike accidents demand better regulation.