Latest news with #VictorianInjurySurveillanceUnit
Sydney Morning Herald
01-08-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Nitin left for work riding a new e-bike. He never made it home
On a gorgeous January morning in 2024, Nitin Prabhu dressed in a short-sleeved shirt his wife had bought him from a recent trip to India, clipped on his bicycle helmet and rode his new e-bike from his Balwyn home to his Docklands office. His wife watched as the skilled cyclist pedalled into the distance. 'He was looking so good that day, he was looking radiant,' his wife, who asked for her name to be withheld for privacy concerns, told The Age. 'I was standing out and looking at him, and I saw him riding on the road. That's the last I saw.' About 6.30pm that day while cycling home, Prabhu and another rider – described in findings by coroner Audrey Jamieson as riding 'aggressively' – collided. Prabhu's family strongly believes the other rider's behaviour caused the crash, though no charges have been laid. Prabhu was thrown to the ground and his head struck the bitumen. He was two minutes away from home. Instead, the 41-year-old was rushed to hospital and became one of a growing number of Australians injured or killed in an e-bike accident. Over the past five years, Victoria has recorded a 627 per cent increase in e-bike injuries, according to data from Monash University's Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Last year, there were 400 emergency department visits for e-bike-related injuries. 'I kept begging the doctors to save the life of the most important person in our lives,' Prabhu's wife said.
The Age
01-08-2025
- The Age
Nitin left for work riding a new e-bike. He never made it home
On a gorgeous January morning in 2024, Nitin Prabhu dressed in a short-sleeved shirt his wife had bought him from a recent trip to India, clipped on his bicycle helmet and rode his new e-bike from his Balwyn home to his Docklands office. His wife watched as the skilled cyclist pedalled into the distance. 'He was looking so good that day, he was looking radiant,' his wife, who asked for her name to be withheld for privacy concerns, told The Age. 'I was standing out and looking at him, and I saw him riding on the road. That's the last I saw.' About 6.30pm that day while cycling home, Prabhu and another rider – described in findings by coroner Audrey Jamieson as riding 'aggressively' – collided. Prabhu's family strongly believes the other rider's behaviour caused the crash, though no charges have been laid. Prabhu was thrown to the ground and his head struck the bitumen. He was two minutes away from home. Instead, the 41-year-old was rushed to hospital and became one of a growing number of Australians injured or killed in an e-bike accident. Over the past five years, Victoria has recorded a 627 per cent increase in e-bike injuries, according to data from Monash University's Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Last year, there were 400 emergency department visits for e-bike-related injuries. 'I kept begging the doctors to save the life of the most important person in our lives,' Prabhu's wife said.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-07-2025
- Automotive
- Sydney Morning Herald
States demand e-bike crackdown amid deaths and fires
Since 2012, e-bike importers had to apply for a permit to prove their wares met the world-leading European safety standards and did not exceed 25km/h and a maximum 250 watt battery. But in 2021, the permit system was dumped and replaced with an optional advisory notice which industry figures say has prompted an influx of powerful bikes that do not meet safety thresholds being falsely imported as e-bikes, when they should be imported as road vehicles and require permission. 'Devices that are capable of exceeding this speed could be categorised as road vehicles and theoretically subject to import restrictions, but are not,' the ministers said. High-speed bikes that surpass 25km/h can be legally sold for private use but are illegal to ride on roads. The ministers said: 'High-speed and dangerous personal mobility devices are therefore freely imported and sold by retailers, often with a vague 'fine print' disclaimer that purchasers should check local laws before using the device.' 'This is of significant concern as Victoria and NSW has already had a significant number of people lose their lives due to the use of high-speed personal mobility devices and e-bikes, including the recent death of a pedestrian in Victoria.' In Victoria, there has been a 627 per cent increase in e-bike injuries in the past five years, according to data from Monash University's Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Last year, there were 400 emergency department visits from e-bike injuries. Earlier this month, a coronial inquest into the death of a Melbourne e-bike rider said there was a substantial number of overpowered and unregistered e-bikes being illegally ridden on roads – 'likely unbeknownst to their riders'. The man had purchased his e-bike from a local shop. It was equipped with a 250-watt motor and had a top speed of 32kh/h, meaning it was essentially an unregistered motorcycle. The coroner said the man's death 'is a tragic reminder of the importance for greater regulations of e-bicycles and I hope that with a concerted effort, such fatalities may be avoided in the future'. Over the weekend, two people died in e-bike crashes. On the NSW Central Coast on Sunday, a trail bike rider was killed in a collision with an e-bike rider. In Perth, a teenager has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly hitting a pedestrian with an unlicensed off-road e-bike. The ministers also raised alarm over a spike in battery fires due to poor quality bikes and scooters being imported and a lack of battery safety standards. Loading 'There has been an increasing number of e-scooter, e-bike and other lithium-ion battery fires recorded in NSW and Victoria, sometimes leading to catastrophic outcomes including death,' the ministers said. NSW Fire and Rescue describes lithium-ion batteries as the fastest growing fire risk in the state and recorded a 66 per cent increase in such fires between 2022 and 2023. NSW is the only state that publishes this data. Industry groups have supported the call for strengthening national standards. 'The access to overpowered, high-speed products has increased dramatically,' said Bicycle Industries Australia managing director Peter Bourke. 'Good quality product is being tarnished by poor quality product.'
The Age
29-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Age
States demand e-bike crackdown amid deaths and fires
Since 2012, e-bike importers had to apply for a permit to prove their wares met the world-leading European safety standards and did not exceed 25km/h and a maximum 250 watt battery. But in 2021, the permit system was dumped and replaced with an optional advisory notice which industry figures say has prompted an influx of powerful bikes that do not meet safety thresholds being falsely imported as e-bikes, when they should be imported as road vehicles and require permission. 'Devices that are capable of exceeding this speed could be categorised as road vehicles and theoretically subject to import restrictions, but are not,' the ministers said. High-speed bikes that surpass 25km/h can be legally sold for private use but are illegal to ride on roads. The ministers said: 'High-speed and dangerous personal mobility devices are therefore freely imported and sold by retailers, often with a vague 'fine print' disclaimer that purchasers should check local laws before using the device.' 'This is of significant concern as Victoria and NSW has already had a significant number of people lose their lives due to the use of high-speed personal mobility devices and e-bikes, including the recent death of a pedestrian in Victoria.' In Victoria, there has been a 627 per cent increase in e-bike injuries in the past five years, according to data from Monash University's Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Last year, there were 400 emergency department visits from e-bike injuries. Earlier this month, a coronial inquest into the death of a Melbourne e-bike rider said there was a substantial number of overpowered and unregistered e-bikes being illegally ridden on roads – 'likely unbeknownst to their riders'. The man had purchased his e-bike from a local shop. It was equipped with a 250-watt motor and had a top speed of 32kh/h, meaning it was essentially an unregistered motorcycle. The coroner said the man's death 'is a tragic reminder of the importance for greater regulations of e-bicycles and I hope that with a concerted effort, such fatalities may be avoided in the future'. Over the weekend, two people died in e-bike crashes. On the NSW Central Coast on Sunday, a trail bike rider was killed in a collision with an e-bike rider. In Perth, a teenager has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly hitting a pedestrian with an unlicensed off-road e-bike. The ministers also raised alarm over a spike in battery fires due to poor quality bikes and scooters being imported and a lack of battery safety standards. Loading 'There has been an increasing number of e-scooter, e-bike and other lithium-ion battery fires recorded in NSW and Victoria, sometimes leading to catastrophic outcomes including death,' the ministers said. NSW Fire and Rescue describes lithium-ion batteries as the fastest growing fire risk in the state and recorded a 66 per cent increase in such fires between 2022 and 2023. NSW is the only state that publishes this data. Industry groups have supported the call for strengthening national standards. 'The access to overpowered, high-speed products has increased dramatically,' said Bicycle Industries Australia managing director Peter Bourke. 'Good quality product is being tarnished by poor quality product.'
Sydney Morning Herald
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Sydney Morning Herald
The big e-bike problem. They hurt.
'We see a lot of these riders with no helmets on at all, or bicycle helmets, and they're doing non-bicycle speeds. They're doing speeds that are normally reserved for registered vehicles like motorbikes, which have their own laws around protective equipment, like proper helmets.' The latest Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit data shows a 627 per cent jump in people going to hospital with an e-bike injury since 2019, though data analyst Jane Hayman noted the rate climbed as people were using the bikes more. There was a 60 per cent rise in injuries in the 2023/24 financial year. Hayman said 15-19 year olds were most often going to hospital in Victoria, followed by 20-24 and 25-29 year olds. 'While those aged 16 years or less are not legally allowed to ride on the road, 47 per cent of this age group were injured while riding on a road, street or highway,' Hayman said. 'This is a concern given that they are the largest age group attending hospitals. As e-bikes become more popular more research is warranted to find out how these bikes are being used and ridden by children.' Loading Earlier this month, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a modified e-bike in Victoria and the rider was left with likely 'life-changing' injuries. The dead man's brother called for e-bikes to be banned because of the danger they posed. In New South Wales this month, the government announced plans to legalise e-scooters following a parliamentary inquiry into their use, but made no changes to e-bike regulations. E-bikes that have been modified to go faster than 25km/h are illegal to ride on or near public roads in both Victoria and NSW. 'Work is going on to create a better framework for shared e-bike schemes that will reduce clutter on streets,' the NSW government said in a statement. 'E-bikes must be mostly propelled by riders; a motor cannot be the only source of power and is there to help riders ... The same rules and responsibilities apply to riders of an e-bike as a traditional bicycle.' Transport for NSW does not track e-bikes as a separate category in its injury data. In Queensland, the government launched a parliamentary inquiry this month into the use of e-mobility devices because of a rise in injuries from both e-bikes and e-scooters – up 112 per cent between 2021 and 2024. Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg said the increase in injuries could not be ignored. 'It's important we consider all research and opinions, to ensure a safe and reliable future for e-scooters and e-bikes, especially as we welcome visitors from all over the world for the 2032 Games,' he said in a statement. Queensland Police said more than 2700 infringements were issued for illegal e-mobility road use between November 2022 and December 2024.
