A “health emergency”. A “total menace”. “Take them away and crush them”.

E-bikes are in the news for all the wrong reasons. A spate of deaths and injuries linked to e-bike crashes have led to widespread concern. Hundreds of serious injuries have been recorded over the past two years in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. High-speed rideouts across Sydney Harbour Bridge and through golf courses have infuriated authorities.

The vehicles authorities are concerned about aren’t really e-bikes at all. They’re effectively illegal electric motorbikes, able to accelerate rapidly — some to more than 100 kilometres per hour — and often without the safety standards of a legal motorbike. For years, these vehicles were imported through a loophole allowing them to be used on private land. But once in Australia, most end up on roads, bike paths and public space.

The thrill of these vehicles can be a potent cocktail for young people. Their range and speed gives teens more independence before they can legally get a car. That’s great. But teens are also generally more likely to take risks and test boundaries, and less likely to comply with rules. Unsurprisingly, injury and death rates among younger e-bike riders are rising given widespread access to cheap, fast, unlicensed vehicles – often by their well-meaning parents.

Many people associate e-bikes with parents ferrying kids around on electric cargo bikes, or commuters in business attire zipping to work without raising a sweat. These types of legal vehicles are........

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