As e-bikes surge in popularity across NSW, particularly among teenagers, the NSW Government is introducing measures to improve safety and reduce risk for families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With around 600,000 households now owning an e-bike, and many more expected to buy one this Christmas, parents are being urged to check that any new device is safe, compliant and appropriate for young riders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Government will move to reduce the maximum legal power output of e-bikes in NSW to 250 watts, bringing the state back into line with all other Australian jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This reverses a previous regulatory change that increased the power limit to 500 watts, which has contributed to a wave of high-powered bikes that can be unsafe for children and difficult for parents and police to identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The change is aimed at keeping kids safer on roads, bike paths and local streets by reducing access to devices that behave more like electric motorbikes than pedal-assisted bicycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW Government is also reviewing the definition of an e-bike in road rules to close loopholes that allow motorcycle-level devices to be sold and ridden as though they are bicycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These state changes complement national action. The Commonwealth Government has now committed to reinstating import requirements that ensure e-bikes sold in Australia meet the European safety and quality standard, EN 15194.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will help keep low-quality, easily modified and dangerous devices out of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The updated rules are expected to take effect within months and will be done in consultation with retailers and the community to ensure a fair transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents buying an e-bike this Christmas are encouraged to look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Government is also urging parents to talk to their kids about responsible riding: wearing a helmet, not carrying passengers, sticking to bike paths and roads where permitted, and never modifying a device to go faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These changes form part of a broader effort to improve safety around e-devices, including new laws introduced to regulate shared e-bike schemes, clean up footpath clutter and ensure shared scheme operators meet strict safety standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Transport John Graham said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cE-bikes are fantastic for getting kids outside, active and independent but they need to be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing devices on the market that are far too powerful, too easy to modify and too hard for parents to assess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is about making sure the bike your teenager rides behaves like a bike, not a motorbike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur message to parents is simple: check the sticker, check the wattage, and have a conversation with your kids about staying safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNothing matters more than keeping our kids safe. As more young people jump on e-bikes, we need to make sure every device on our roads and footpaths is safe, legal and fit for purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight now we\u2019re seeing too many powerful, modified devices that put riders and everyone around them at risk. These changes are about preventing serious injuries before they happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoad safety is a shared responsibility. Government is tightening standards and cleaning up unsafe behaviour, but we need retailers, parents and riders to help keep our communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As e-bikes surge in popularity across NSW, particularly among teenagers, the NSW Government is introducing measures to improve safety and reduce risk for families. With around 600,000 households now owning an e-bike, and many more expected to buy one this Christmas, parents are being urged to check that any new device is safe, compliant and … Continue reading “Making e-bikes safer for kids and communities this Christmas”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36337,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36336\/revisions\/36337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}