Illawarra parents describe modified e-bike injuries as NSW has removed 58 bikes and crushed 22

ABC Illawarra reported on 22 October that more than a dozen people on the NSW Illawarra coast say they were injured on or by suspected illegal e-bikes. The accounts sit alongside a hospital warning and fresh enforcement numbers from the state.

• Simona Mastroianni's 14 year old son was riding home from school on a modified e-bike when his foot caught in the chain, almost entirely severing his left heel. He faced a long recovery and weeks off school
• Two mothers said their toddlers were hospitalised with broken bones after being struck on a shared path along Wollongong's coastline
• Donovan Dwyer, co director of trauma at Sydney Children's Hospital, called the increase in trauma admissions from e-bike injuries "dramatic and worrying". No admission numbers were given in the report

The rules and the enforcement numbers

ABC News set out the current NSW rules as a 25 km/h limit on motor assistance and a throttle that must cut out at 6 km/h unless the rider is pedalling. It reported that by early 2029 the maximum wattage will be halved to 250 watts, and that the government is reviewing an age limit. Our own earlier coverage describes a 500 watt continuous limit today, so riders buying now should check the compliance label and watch for the 2029 change.

Under the seizure laws that began in August, police and Transport for NSW had removed 58 bikes and crushed 22 by October. Assistant Commissioner David Driver, who heads the Traffic and Highway Patrol, said police will expand the crackdown once their processes are right. He estimated there are 750,000 e-bikes in NSW, but said it is impossible to know how many exceed the legal speed and power limits.

A gap for buyers

Riding a non-compliant e-bike in public is illegal in NSW, but buying or selling one is not. That gap is part of why parents are asking for more. Mastroianni wants registration or licensing of riders, including teenagers, considered alongside police operations, and wants manufacturers examined. Peter McLean of Bicycle NSW argued that crushing bikes makes no difference given the thousands of devices in circulation, and urged action at the border.