E-rideables inquiry calls for wide-ranging changes to WA laws, including tougher penalties against riders
The inquiry examined the safety and regulation of e-rideables in WA after a fatal accident in Perth. (ABC News: Glyn Jones)
In short:
A parliamentary inquiry into WA's e-scooter and e-bike rules has made 33 recommendations in a bid to make the devices safer for riders and pedestrians.
The recommendations include harsher penalties for riders committing offences, a crackdown on modifications to e-rideables, and better infrastructure to separate e-rideables from pedestrians and cars.
The government has announced children under 16 will be banned from riding and storing e-rideables at all WA public schools from the start of next year.
Children under the age of 16 will be banned from using and storing e-rideables at all WA public schools starting from term one, 2026.
The government made the announcement following the release of the final report from a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into e-scooters and e-bikes, which made 33 recommendations on how to modernise the state's laws and make the devices safer for riders and pedestrians.
Education Minister Sabine Winton said the report "clearly highlighted that for many, many parents out there, there's a misunderstanding about what is legal and what's not".
"It is illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to be riding e-rideables," she said.
Minister for Education Sabine Winton says e-rideables will be banned from WA public schools from next year. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)
"And so this ban today supports schools, supports principals, and that's what our principals have asked for to make sure that we can get that message across to communities and make sure that young people aren't riding these things."
The report urged the government to toughen penalties for e-rideable offences and punish retailers who help people modify e-rideables to break the rules.
The probe was sparked by the death of Perth father Thanh Phan, who was struck and killed by a scooter in the Perth CBD in May.
Thanh Phan died after he was struck by an e-scooter being ridden by an English tourist. (Supplied)
He was believed to have been the first pedestrian to die from an e-scooter accident in WA.
The inquiry's scope was expanded after a 59-year-old woman was struck by an electric motorcycle in July.
So far this year there have been seven e-scooter related deaths in WA, more than the previous three years combined, the committee noted.
Its final recommendations are extensive, from calling for better infrastructure to separate e-rideables from pedestrians and cars, to improving data collection to better understand the scale of injuries caused by e-rideables.
"This mode of transport has an important place in the future transport landscape, so long as it is adequately funded, supported by a comprehensive legislative and policy framework, and provided with dedicated infrastructure to ensure the safety of all road and path users," the report concluded.
Push to outlaw modifications
To stop devices being tampered with to remove speed limiters, the committee called for "anti-tampering mechanisms" in design standards which are "mandated at the point of manufacture and enforced on importation".
It found a lack of standards had made it "easier and cheaper to import inferior quality products".
The hiring of e-scooters in the City of Perth was suspended after the death of Thanh Phan. (ABC News: Glyn Jones)
That work is currently underway and is being led by WA.
In the meantime, the committee said state laws should also be amended to make modifications illegal and "a penalty for retailers who provide advice on, or otherwise assist in, device modification".
It also called for penalties for speeding or other offences to be beefed up "to reflect the increase in e-rideable use and the risks associated with non-compliance".
Action against faster devices
The state's road safety commissioner had previously told the ABC while current rules limited e-rideables to 25 kilometres an hour, people were regularly riding faster devices that should be regulated rather than outlawed.
E-bikes have surged in popularity in recent years. (ABC News: Emma Wynne)
The committee endorsed that view, calling for the creation of a new category for e-rideables capable of reaching up to 45 kilometres an hour, requiring licensing and annual registration, and possibly insurance.
The state government should also declare 'dismount zones' where e-rideables could not be used, and allow local governments to declare their own, the committee recommended.
A number of education initiatives were also recommended by the committee, noting many parents, for example, did not seem to know e-rideables could only legally be used by people aged over 16.
Deaths 'sadly preventable'
Committee chair Peter Rundle said he hoped the inquiry would help improve the safety of riders and pedestrians.
Peter Rundle says the rise of e-rideables has posed "regulatory challenges" for governments. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
"In addition to Mr Phan, there have been 12 rider fatalities since 2022. Tragically, some of these were children," he said.
"As we have come to understand through this inquiry, these deaths were sadly preventable."
Mr Rundle said it had been difficult to quantify the injuries sustained through e-rideable incidents, with "significant under-reporting" likely.
"Nonetheless, anecdotal reports from medical professionals and others are unanimous in suggesting that injuries and fatalities are increasing in number," he said.
He said the rise in popularity of e-rideables had posed "regulatory challenges" for governments and reform was "critical."
Police and Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby thanked the bipartisan committee members for their "collaborative work".
"I welcome the report, I welcome its findings, I welcome its recommendations, and we will seriously sit down and look at each and every one of them," he said.
"We want to have a formal response to this early next year, which will then pave the way for legislative action and other action in relation to e-ridables."
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