Latest news with #e-bikes
ABC News
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
Calls for illegal e-bikes to be seized by police cheered at parliamentary hearing on Gold Coast
Calls for police to be given powers to seize and destroy illegal e-bikes have received cheers and applause at a public hearing examining the safety of e-transport devices in Queensland. More than 1,200 submissions have been made to the Queensland parliamentary inquiry into e-transport use and safety, which was announced by the state government in May. A public hearing on the Gold Coast today heard evidence from health authorities, local government, a business lobby group and an e-bike retailer. All presented their perspectives and gave potential solutions on how to manage the increasing popularity of e-transport devices. But those in attendance gave their most vocal support to members of the public sharing their experiences. Southern Gold Coast resident Ellis Williams told the hearing that people in his community were afraid to walk in some areas because of speeding e-bike riders. He said police needed more power to take illegal e-bikes off the street. "Go to the local high school and look at all the bikes parked along the fence … I would say the majority of them would be deemed illegal," Mr Williams said. "Issue police with a warrant to go in there, seize those bikes and destroy them. "That would solve a big part of the problem as they're not cheap to replace." The impassioned speech by Mr Williams was met with applause from the dozens of people who attended the mid-morning hearing. Pedal-assisted e-bikes are legal in Queensland, but riding electric motorbikes or modified e-bikes on public roads or footpaths is an offence. Gold Coast resident John Cohen also received vocal support for his suggestion that all motorised vehicles be registered to a particular owner. "License and register the legal bikes, seize and burn the rest," he said. "It's always been a fact that anything with a motor doesn't mix with pedestrians. Head of product for e-bike retailer Ampd Bros Paul Sullivan said Queensland's legislation was "outdated, inconsistent and unhelpful" for people who wanted to do the right thing. When asked by the committee if speed and power could be restricted to improve safety on e-transport devices, Mr Sullivan said more focus was needed on improving rider behaviour, rather than the devices themselves. "Anyone who wants to get around technological boundaries can very quickly work out how to do it and it's usually the younger generations that first figure it out," he said. "If licensing and registration is going to work to make things safer and help identify people doing the wrong thing, then we'd support that as well." Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service data analyst Andy Menzies told the hearing emergency department presentations related to e-transport devices had increased every year since 2015. Mr Menzies said the health service had seen more than 730 people seek emergency department treatment for e-transport device injuries in the past 12 months, a sharp increase on the previous year. "What we're seeing in the growth of e-transport presentations is that they're now the highest rate of injury of any mode of transport," he said. Shaun Robertson, the nursing director for the health service's emergency departments, told the hearing most injuries were recorded in males aged between 16 and 30. "But we have seen a slight increase in the last 12 months in female representation," he said. "I think that's probably down to the availability of these devices." Burleigh MP Hermann Vorster, who was at the hearing but was not formally a member of the inquiry, said the committee would hear from high school students at a closed meeting. "This is the group that is over-represented amongst users," he said. "Obviously the school administration is dealing with a massive complexity with workplace health and safety issues, potential battery fires — all sorts of things going on." The parliamentary inquiry into e-mobility safety will next hold public hearings in the Sunshine Coast, Townsville and Brisbane. The committee is due to table its report in the Queensland parliament in March next year.
Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Joan Collins is right, e-bikes are wrecking our cities
I am to the e-biker what the black taxi driver is to the cyclist. Full of contempt, that is. As I bomb around the capital on my bicycle, I occasionally catch the eye of a cabbie. Invariably it's a look of 'Right, you and me outside. Now.' I scarper off down an alley before the situation develops. Except that now, surely, their objects of ire should be the same as mine and we should come together in union against the wretched e-bikes. Because they are now everywhere and they travel like the clappers. And this week has to be a turning point for their fate because they've annoyed Joan Collins. 'I've recently been almost run over twice by Lime bikes,' she records in The Spectator. She also writes of 'the proliferation of rental bikes and powered scooters that litter our pavements'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joan Collins (@joancollinsdbe) She has London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan firmly in her sights, saying that the capital is being 'destroyed by [his] insidious antics' and he'd better be afraid. Collins, a national treasure, born in 1933 and carved into our national conscience as the title of her 1979 film The Bitch, won't let this lie. Neither will I, and neither will her fellow actor Robert Powell, who famously played Christ in a 1970s TV mini-series. So incensed is he at rental e-bikes cluttering his doorstep that he has, so far, sent 570 images to Camden Council. He once counted 100 bikes scattered around and obstructing access to his front door. This is by no means just a London problem. E-bike rentals are a disease spreading to towns and cities across the country. From Belfast to Liverpool, Cardiff to Stirling, Cheltenham to Leicester. And they are spread with the similarly deluded green and zealous mantra of wind turbines. The promise is of freedom, of earnest fuel-free travel and of convenience. Needless to say, most of them are made in China and such is their mass production that they have a short life-span, of some two years. They are often cheaper to repurchase than repair, have toxic lithium batteries and pollute the landscape. It astonished me when I first came across them in Paris a few years ago. It was bad enough seeing them lined up at their official stations, hogging pavements and destroying the line of the French capital's handsome boulevards and buildings. As technology improved, they were then – deliberately – left scattered across the city. But rather than learn from this horrific pioneering catastrophe, London willed them in. And the joy of the Lime bike being that you find the closest-dumped one on your app and then discard it where it pleases you, our capital has similarly begun to fester with these ugly, hideously coloured eyesores. Morning in our towns and cities is the worst time for these beasts. Before vans can arrive to pick them up from centralised locations to take them off to be recharged, a fleet of wretched souls gather them. They are then deposited en masse, for example outside Robert Powell's house, or clustering around traditional bicycle racks that I use. And when they're not polluting the view, left on their sides like garbage, their users, often seemingly enslaved delivery folk forced to speed to meet the demands of their greedy gangmasters, clog up and pelt along cycle lanes. Those are my lanes, my safe routes for my manual, old-school, fitness-inducing bike. E-bikes are motorbikes and should stay on the main roads with the rest of the motorised traffic. Every time one passes me, I swear under my breath at the rider, who's wearing no helmet and whizzing along looking at their phone. Well, e-bikers had best be afraid, because there's a gruesome threesome on their case now. Me, The Bitch and Jesus.
The Verge
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
24,000 e-bike batteries recalled because the US can't get its shit together
The US federal government's consumer watchdog has issued a recall for 'about 24,000' batteries sold with cheap VIVI e-bikes at retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and AliExpress for prices between $365 and $950. At least 14 incidents of overheating batteries have been reported, with three reported fires. No injuries have been reported, but owners are urged to stop using the e-bikes immediately because the lithium-ion batteries pose a 'risk of serious injury or death.' The VIVI e-bikes and batteries in question — models listed here — were likely not certified to UL safety standards. That's not stated in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall notice, but it's a near universal truth for budget brands selling e-bikes at rock-bottom prices. Certification costs money and is entirely voluntary outside of New York City. VIVI also seems to have started appending a 'UL' to the end of its UL certified model names. Owners affected by the recall can contact VIVI to receive a free replacement charger and battery, though it's unclear if the new battery will be UL certified. The recalled batteries were sold with e-bikes between December 2020 and November 2023. Certification costs money and is entirely voluntary The recall deals yet another blow to the reputation of electric bikes in the US, where a preponderance of e-bike incidents occur despite its minuscule share of the global market. In the EU, e-bikes are viewed as safe, reliable, healthy, and space-saving alternatives to automobiles and public transportation thanks largely to strict regulations. The VIVI recall is unlikely to be the last while federal lawmakers in the US continue to ignore e-bike safety. VIVI's e-bikes are made in China, like 86.3 percent of the US bike market. Prior to May 2nd, 2025, Chinese imports were eligible for the de minimis exception, whereby goods costing less than $800 entered the country duty free. The impact of this on the price of gadgets from Temu and clothing from Shein has been well documented, but that seemingly inconsequential exception also impacted e-bike safety. First, it allowed those big lithium-ion batteries attached to cheap e-bike motors to be imported with minimal government inspection, as Consumer Reports warned back in 2022. It also incentivized e-bike makers to cut corners in order to beat that $800 cap. UL testing and certification has a one-time cost of between $30,000 to $100,000 per model, allowing companies like VIVI to undercut brands like Rad Power that willingly pay for the marketing that comes with a UL seal of approval. There are two main safety standards that apply to e-bikes in the US: UL 2849, which applies to e-bikes, and UL 2271 for e-bike batteries. Both certifications are recommended by the CPSC but remain voluntary everywhere but New York City which made them mandatory in 2023. As of September 30th, 2024, there were three deaths and 84 injuries from e-bike fires, down from 14 deaths and 114 injuries for the same period a year earlier. Tough e-bike safety laws like the one coming into effect for all of California on January 1st could convince more e-bike makers to seek UL certification. But only a federal mandate can guarantee a uniform approach and solve the battery safety issue once and for all. In the meantime, we can expect more e-bike battery-related injuries to persons and property in the US. And since President Trump is openly hostile to regulation and any form of transportation that doesn't require exploding dinosaur juice, there's little hope we'll see a federal e-bike safety standard during his reign. So, the best you can do for now is look for that 'UL Certified' sticker. If you're buying a new e-bike in the US, you should demand it. And if you already own a cheap Chinese import without it, well... maybe park it outside.
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Met Police put up message urging victims of phone thefts to CALL them to report the crime
The Met Police put out a message urging victims of phone thefts to call 999 to report the crime. The force has placed large electronic signs at theft hotspots across London, with one in Stratford reading: 'Just had your phone stolen? Call 999 now.' Beneath the message, further text reads: 'Look up. Look out. Thieves use distractions to take phones and valuables in this area. Don't let them spoil your night out'. But after members of the public pointed out that those who have just had their phone stolen cannot, in fact, call anyone, the Met has now been forced to change tack. Signs photographed in Stratford, east London on Friday now read: 'Contact police as soon as possible'. It comes amid a phone theft crimewave, with 81,000 devices snatched from unwitting victims in London alone in 2024. Recent figures show at least 100,000 devices were stolen last year across the UK, although the true number is feared to be far higher. There has been a 20 per cent year-on-year rise in phone thefts in London, with a total of 230,000 stolen over the past four years. Hotspots for thieves include busy streets and popular tourist destinations, including the West End, Camden Town, London Bridge and Waterloo. Other risky areas are Bloomsbury, Holborn, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Borough, South Bank, Regent's Park and Stratford. The thefts are often carried out by a scourge criminal gangs using e-bikes and scooters to tot up high numbers of phones to sell abroad for parts. Devices can typically be traced to countries as far away as China and Nigeria after being snatched. It is thought phone snatching could cost consumers up to £70 million each year. In signage rolled out in theft hotspots, the Met is warning members of the public to ensure they have a strong passcode and prevent message previews from being seen. Signs read: 'Turn off message previews. Stop thieves seeing security messages. Choose a strong pin, passcode, or password.' Victims of the crime come from all walks of life, with celebrities including Lady Victoria Hervey and Kym Marsh revealing their handsets have previously been taken. Just this week, Australian model Emma Van Der Hoek revealed she had her phone stolen for the second time in three months while walking in north London. CCTV footage shows the influencer looking down at her phone along a straight path. A man dressed in black and wearing a face mask suddenly comes up behind her and snatches the mobile out her hand before sprinting round a corner. Ms Van Der Hoek bravely gives chase but cannot catch up with him. Another man also dressed in black appears to follow behind them both as they sprint out of view. Taking to Instagram to share the incident, Ms Van Der Hoek wrote: 'My phone got stolen yesterday in London!!! This is the second time in three months that this has happened - all within my so called 'safe' neighbourhood.' Other videos show how masked e-bike or moped riders mount the pavement to snatch phones out of people's hands before zooming back into the road and making their escape by weaving through traffic. Police say the surge is fuelled by international black markets, where stolen devices are either sold on or stripped for parts - an industry now worth over £50million a year. Officers are urging Londoners to stick to well-lit, busy areas, remain alert, and keep valuables out of sight to avoid falling prey to the increasingly brazen criminals. The Met Police has been contacted for comment.
BBC News
18-07-2025
- BBC News
Call to tighten rules on e-scooters and e-bikes
A council has called for stricter rules to be introduced for e-bikes and Borough councillors passed a motion on Wednesday calling for their speed limit to be reduced, as well as for licensing requirements to be brought council will be writing to the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, to raise the Adam Stockwell raised concerns over riders "swerving dangerously in and out around cars", not obeying traffic lights, speeding, being hard to see, and said he had witnessed users deliberately "riding at speed" toward pedestrians. He added: "All it takes is one slip or one miscalculation or it being ridden at an older resident and that's going to be a serious collision with serious injuries, no doubt."The council has called for the current 15.5mph (24.9kmph) speed limit - the national limit for e-bikes without pedalling - to be reduced, that vehicles should be registered, and new licences and a training course be introduced for residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they backed the appeal. One bike shop worker said he routinely sees e-bike riders "flying across the road" while another Beeston resident who works with bicycles said: "I ride one myself as my knee is totally shot - everyone who rides one, including myself, should be licensed."E-bikes over the speed limit should be confiscated anyway, but the police can't catch them."E-scooters are bombs on wheels."Broxtowe Borough Council's motion calls for action generally on e-bike and e-scooter Nottingham City Council operates a Lime e-bike hire scheme, which extends into the county to cover Beeston in Broxtowe.A spokesperson for Lime said: "We take vandalism, theft and anti-social behaviour seriously and encourage the public to report incidents to us – including time and location – so we can take swift action."It's crucial we work together with the council and police to deter misuse and hold offenders accountable. This includes rider education, enforcement tools and close coordination with local authorities to ensure the service remains safe and accessible for everyone."
