E-bike power limit to be halved as rider killed in Sydney garbage truck crash

ABC NEWS (Australia)

They can be as fast as motorbikes, but the legal speed limit of e-bikes is set to be drastically reduced. New regulations will slash the maximum power permitted in half, as police crackdown on dangerous riding.

Transcript

00:00A tragic reminder of the vulnerability of riders.

00:06An e-bike and a garbage truck collided at Ultimo this morning, killing the male rider

00:10in his 30s.

00:11The cause of that crash is still under investigation, however it would appear at this stage that

00:15he wasn't wearing a helmet.

00:16It's a reminder of how dangerous they can be.

00:20It coincided with the announcement of new state regulations slashing the legal top speed

00:24of e-bikes.

00:25I don't want to put young people's lives at risk because they're travelling down a road,

00:29on what is no longer a bicycle, it's now a motorbike.

00:33The current maximum power limit of 500 watts, or about 50 kilometres an hour, depending

00:38on the bike, will be halved.

00:40A relief for these pedestrians.

00:41I think it's a good idea to control the speed sometimes, they're just like, you know.

00:46You've just got to be wary when you're walking, I think.

00:49People don't even ring the bell anymore, so you've got to jump out of the way.

00:53But not everyone supports the new restrictions.

00:55It's fine for me because it's very fast, and it delivers very fast my customers.

01:02This is a small step, but we need to also be looking at rider behaviour.

01:07Police have launched a blitz on e-bike riders.

01:09In a period of about an hour and a half, we've detected over 30 offences, ranging from people

01:15not wearing a helmet, going through red lights, using mobile phones.

01:20The changes bring NSW into line with the 250 watt limit in every other state and territory.

01:27Once the new rules are in place, it'll be illegal to ride a higher powered bike, even

01:31if it was purchased under current regulations.

01:33It'll undoubtedly be a challenge and a problem in the short term, having a mix of all of the

01:39bikes.

01:40The new regulations will begin in the coming months.

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