New restrictions for e-bikes and e-scooters will be rolled out in Queensland within months, but the state has yet to source testing devices or finalise the system it will use to seize suspected illegal devices from the streets.
New laws coming into effect on July 1 will mean anyone under 16, or who does not hold a drivers’ licence, can no longer ride an e-mobility device. A speed limit for riders of 10km/h on footpaths and shared paths will also be introduced.
A crackdown on illegal devices – such as e-bikes without speed limiters, and electric motorbikes – will accompany the new laws, Transport Department deputy director-general Andrew Mahon said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.
Mahon said the department expected to use compliance testing machines similar to NSW’s “dyno units”, which measure a vehicle’s power output and check for a 25km/h limiter in permanent locations across the state.
“We don’t have them at this stage, but we will procure those devices to assist police in testing, and we’re working through that process at the moment,” he said.
The department also did not know how many testing devices it would be able to get, or how much it might cost.
In NSW, the state government originally purchased three units, which it promised would be mobile.
Mahon said Queensland’s devices would be in a permanent location, and seized e-bikes and e-scooters would only be tested if the rider was being prosecuted.
“We’ll need to make sure we can retrieve the device if it is seized – either at the location of at the nearest police station – and make sure we can transport and store those devices so they’re not damaged, and they can be returned if they are to be returned,” Mahon said.
He said the looming crackdown would be a “challenge for both [police and department] agencies”, and said the department was also considering contracting a third party to transport seized devices.
Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Rhys Wildman said officers seizing e-bikes and e-scooters would “make a judgment call based on exactly what’s the risk to the individuals, and to our broader community, and to our own officers”.
Both Mahon and Wildman said the new laws had to come into effect before either agency knew how big the issue of non-compliant e-mobility devices was.
Wildman said officers would slot e-mobility policing into their regular operations to boost road safety.
“You’ll see an increase in enforcement … [then] through education and enforcement and joint operations that should drop off again,” he said.
“We will move to what the community sentiment is, whether it’s in the disaster management space, the crime prevention space, or the road management space.”
Mahon said the department was also considering exemptions to the 10km/h speed limit for certain off-road facilities that were defined as shared paths, including rail trails and publicly accessible mountain biking routes.
The committee considering the bill is expected to table a report on May 8.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
