There is a crisis of NSW Road Deaths, and it isn’t caused by Fat Bikes
WalkSydney envisions safe, connected walking and cycling networks and neighbourhoods for all. In the last three days, several articles have been published that appear to be the start of a ‘moral panic’ around e-bikes, triggered it appears by a fatal crash by an e-bike and an announcement to limit the power of e-bikes. A list of articles is set out below showing the number particularly in the last three days.
While the cause of the crash was unknown at the time, it has since been attributed to the driver (of a garbage truck) not the e-bike driver – the bike in question was rate-limited to 350W and speed limited to 25km/h. There was no safe cycling infrastructure on the road in question, an 8 lane road.
Opinion not evidence
While WalkSydney recognises the impetus to report on a government announcement, we note the vast majority of articles about the dangers of e-bikes are opinion pieces, with no evidence provided. The fatality that is the proximate cause of these articles was the fault of the driver – as most accidents with pedestrians and cyclists (e-bike or otherwise) tend to be, according to the NSW Government’s own road safety statistics.
There is a crisis, and it is people being killed on the footpath, by drivers.
There is a surge in people being killed, not by e-bikes but by vehicles, particularly heavier private vehicles like utes and 4WDs. 12 people were killed in November alone – a 76yo woman walking, a 45yo road construction worker, an 80yo woman walking, a 50yo man walking, an 87yo man walking, a 92yo man walking (killed by a 91yo driver), a 33yo woman walking (who was 8months pregnant, and her unborn baby), a 23yo man (hit-and-run), all by drivers, one driving a bus. Additional police reports (not in road safety statistics) from November included 3 people standing on the footpath (all in their 20s to 30s) by a car mounting the kerb, a 55yo woman killed by a 4WD, and a 47yo man killed outside the hospital where he worked.
Only one death was caused by a bicycle (not an e-bike), of a fellow cyclist he crashed into in a cycling group.
The year-to-date road deaths stand at 55 people walking, and 11 people cycling. Nearly all of these have been killed by vehicle drivers. A detailed list of most of these fatalities to date has been compiled by Jake Coppinger.
Why this is an issue
WalkSydney says that these articles create the illusion that the primary road safety threat at present is e-bikes, and has the effect of minimising or excusing the lack of progress on Vision Zero particularly around walkers dying.
WalkSydney would like to see road violence reporting be grounded in accurate statistics: who is being killed and seriously injured, and by which kinds of vehicles. WalkSydney is calling for more action from government in reducing road trauma – not through crackdown on e-bikes – but through proven methods of achieving Vision Zero such as reducing speeds, building infrastructure like footpaths and crossings, and mandating technology like Intelligent Speed Assist (see previous press releases), which costs only $300-$400 per car1 and is expected to reduce collisions by 30% and deaths by 20%.2
List of recent articles that imply e-bikes are a primary road safety concern
Sydney Morning Herald
- Opinion, “No child needs a $4000 present, especially not a lethal one” by Alexandra Smith, 4/12/2025
- NSW, “New 500 watt e-bike ban won’t improve safety, critics say”, Jessica McSweeney and Mostafa Rachwani, 3/12/2025
- Cycling, “We need to rethink the use of e-bikes, especially by children”, The Herald’s View, 3/12/2025
- National, “E-Bike Rider read after collision with garbage truck”, 2/12/2025
- Electric Vehicles, “Cycling body welcomes Queensland e-bike crackdown” by Cameron Atfield, 15/11/2025
And other newspapers:
- Daily Telegraph, NSW, “Chris Minns announces NSW to ban e-bikes with power output greater than 250 watts from 2026”, originally “Calls for NSW government to completely ban e-bikes after rider dies”, Eliza Barr et al, 3/12/2025
- 7NEWS Sydney, Police crackdown on e-bikes, 3/12/2025
- news.com.au “NSW Government warning of dangerous e-bikes ahead of Christmas”, Rhiannon Lewin, 2/12/2025
We also note, by contrast:
- News.com.au, “Why Australia needs e-bikes more than ever” by James Chung, 2/12/2025 – at the same time as the above article – correctly identifying the reason e-bikes are used and necessary in transport
- SMH, Roads, “Motorists to pay for pedestrian crossings, bike paths with congestion charge” by Patrick Hatch, 19/11/2025 – identifying the need to pay for infrastructure for ‘vulnerable road users’, by drivers.
Quote
Tim Cassidy, spokesperson for WalkSydney said:
“We can’t let the government off the hook about the real road safety crisis going on at the moment – people being killed on the footpath by cars. We need action now, like lower speed limits, better crossings and better technology in vehicles”.