In the span of just a few days, two children were killed in separate e-bike crashes in Queensland – one  on the Sunshine Coast and another  on the Gold Coast.

Not more than a week later,  seven people were hospitalised in Queensland in a series of separate e-bike and e-scooter crashes across the state.

There have been four  e-bike deaths involving children and teenagers in Australia since July. Three have been in Queensland.

What can be done to prevent injuries and deaths on e-bikes?

E-bikes in Australia

E-bikes are generally defined as pedal-assisted bicycles powered by small electric motors, limited to 250 watts and speeds of 25 kilometres per hour under Australian law. These bikes are either bought by consumers or rented and used on roads.

However, many of the bikes involved in recent crashes appear to exceed those limits. Some are modified and capable of far higher speeds.

Across Australia,  there is no age limit for riding e-bikes.

However,  shared mobility operators such as Lime and Beam require riders to be at least 16-18 years old, depending on the city and service.

Australia also has no formal mechanism for recording e-bike fatalities – itself a significant data gap. But the trend is hard to ignore: e-bike crashes involving young riders appear to be an escalating risk.

Evidence from e-scooter studies shows children aged under 18 are  disproportionately involved in serious crashes, which is why most states have imposed age limits for e-scooter use.

The risks of riding e-bikes

For the general population, evidence shows e-bike riders face a........

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