Description
Kids on souped up e bikes tearing down the footpath at fifty. Lithium batteries exploding in bedrooms. Politicians shrugging and saying it is a state issue. In this episode of The West Report we track how a quiet legal tweak by Barnaby Joyce helped turn Australia into the wild west of e bikes, and why kids are paying the price. οΏΌ
We break down
β’ How Australia once followed strict European e bike standards, and why those rules were scrapped in 2021
β’ The explosion in cheap, overpowered imports and the rise in hospitalisations, deaths and lithium battery fires
β’ Why Dirodie style bikes and easy mods make it simple for kids to bypass speed and power limits
β’ The patchwork mess of state rules, and what Catherine King and Sophie Scamps are trying to fix
β’ How we can get the best of e bikes, freedom and accessibility, without turning every main street into a crash site
As an e bike owner, I am not here to blame kids popping wheelies on Boxing Day. The real story is a decade of bad regulation, weak enforcement and governments that waited for tragedy instead of acting when the warnings first came in.
If you are looking at buying an e bike for yourself or your kids this Christmas, watch this before you tap buy now.
Support us β€οΈ patreon.com/thewestreport
Our Journalism π° michaelwest.com.au
Merch π https://lonelykidsclub.com/collections/michael-west
Linktree π https://linktr.ee/michaelwestmedia.com.au
We break down
β’ How Australia once followed strict European e bike standards, and why those rules were scrapped in 2021
β’ The explosion in cheap, overpowered imports and the rise in hospitalisations, deaths and lithium battery fires
β’ Why Dirodie style bikes and easy mods make it simple for kids to bypass speed and power limits
β’ The patchwork mess of state rules, and what Catherine King and Sophie Scamps are trying to fix
β’ How we can get the best of e bikes, freedom and accessibility, without turning every main street into a crash site
As an e bike owner, I am not here to blame kids popping wheelies on Boxing Day. The real story is a decade of bad regulation, weak enforcement and governments that waited for tragedy instead of acting when the warnings first came in.
If you are looking at buying an e bike for yourself or your kids this Christmas, watch this before you tap buy now.
Support us β€οΈ patreon.com/thewestreport
Our Journalism π° michaelwest.com.au
Merch π https://lonelykidsclub.com/collections/michael-west
Linktree π https://linktr.ee/michaelwestmedia.com.au
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