Rogue Rides: The Gold Coast’s Growing E-Bike Crisis

WORDS: Wildcat PHOTOGRAPHY Toksomolika @freepik.com

As deaths rise and children ride illegally at high speeds, calls intensify for urgent reform and parental responsibility

THE Gold Coast now has the unenviable reputation as being the illegal e-bike capital of the country. It’s not a mantle we would ever want but anybody who drives the streets of the Gold Coast will know it’s true. They are like fast-breeding rabbits – popping up everywhere, on every corner, on every street, and highway. The number of e-bike deaths this year in Queensland alone was 12, and paramedics report that e-bike and e-scooter injuries now total about 500 a month. The madness must stop. To its credit, the Crisafulli Government has started an inquiry into mobility bikes and e-scooters, and we expect that report to be handed down in the first quarter of 2026. However, in the meantime, young people are being killed, and injured badly, as the carnage on our roads continues. Kids as young as eight are being let loose on our roads on illegal e-bikes, which can reach speeds of up to 80 kph. No road safety programs, no licence checks, nothing.

They are being left to their own devices to ride safely in an ever increasingly dangerous world.

Teksomolika @freepik.com

It is little wonder that they can’t handle the roads in a safe manner. They don’t know what they don’t know. Their brains are not developed enough to deal with the complexities of driving safely. They make panicked decisions on the roads that adults know are not smart. Much of the blame must be sheeted home to those that have allowed this to manifest to the point where we are badly letting these kids down. The outcome of the e-bike and e-scooter inquiry must be expedited.

Mayor Tom Tate recently publicly lashed lawmakers for allowing such a willy nilly approach to keeping our kids safe. He advocated for the banning of the bikes to those aged under 16. It makes perfect sense. As we’re seeing with the ban on social media sites for kids under 16, it’s the adults in the room that need to take responsibility to protect them. Police can only do a certain amount. They can crackdown, issue fines and impound the bikes, but ultimately it’s up to parents and the kids themselves to take responsibility. The time has come. Let’s get these bikes off the road for the safety of our youngsters.