Committee Recommendations
Fixing drafting errors about device compliance
There’s a couple of positive steps in here: recommendations 2 and 3 address the sloppy error in the draft Bill which would have made all e-bikes manufactured before the most recent standard (in 2023) illegal, as well as recommend a new e-cargo bike standard. Recommendation 4 also addresses the requirement in the draft Bill for compliant e-bikes without a label to be shipped back to the manufacturer - the committee recommends a state-wide mechanism instead. However, we don’t have any detail on exactly what this scheme would be and what it would involve.
I’m still concerned that the requirement for e-trikes and other adaptive e-mobility devices to apply for a “special circumstances permit” is unnecessarily arduous and represents a barrier that will disproportionately affect disabled people. But again, we have no detail about how this will actually look in practice.
Exemptions to driver licence requirement
The Committee has recommended:
That individuals who cannot obtain a drivers licence because of disability, a medical condition, or age, but are still capable of safely riding an e-mobility device, are able to do so, and that the Department of Transport and Main Roads develop an exemption framework.
This is one of the most maddening recommendations from the committee. Clearly they’ve realised that requiring a driver’s licence to ride a pedal-assist bicycle is a silly and discriminatory idea, but somehow there’s still going to be a barrier for people who don’t have a licence. We don’t have any clear detail on how this exemption will work - what is the criteria? How will people get one? Will there be some kind of test developed? Will it be just a medical certificate, and if so, will people have to carry it around in case they’re stopped by police? How much will it cost?
These are all questions that have just been handballed to the Transport Department by the committee, and we have no assurance that they will properly consult and test this with disability advocates, medical professionals and others before it’s legislated - which could be only a matter of a few weeks from now!
The larger question for me here is why it’s necessary to have a driver licence requirement at all. If there’s going to be an exemption for anyone who can’t get a driver’s licence, the requirement should just be dropped.
Speed limits
The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended:
To apply a 10km/hr speed limit to all footpaths in high pedestrian areas, with a clear definition of ‘footpath in high pedestrian area’ and that the Department of Transport and Main Roads consider a speed limit of 10km/hr within 10 metres of a pedestrian on all other footpaths.
To provide that the 10km/hr speed limit does not apply to shared paths, unless signed, and that on shared paths e-mobility riders should travel slowly around pedestrians and the Department of Transport and Main Roads consider a speed limit of 15km/hr within 10 metres of a pedestrian.
The good news? Clearly our message got through: the 10km/hr speed limit was ludicrous.
The bad news? The Committee has recommended different speed limits in high and low pedestrian areas, footpaths and shared paths, with and without pedestrians present without any clear definitions. It’s clear as mud, and will be impossible to enforce.
The requirement for a speed limit “within 10 metres of a pedestrian” also has a bunch of absurd implications - what if the pedestrian is walking on the other side of the road? What if the pedestrian is sitting at a bus stop, or even in their own front yard behind a fence?
The final absurdity is that none of these complex requirements apply to push bikes, even though they are identical in every respect to legal pedal-assist bicycles in terms of safety, weight, speed and handling. That’s going to create confusion for pedestrians and riders alike.
Rail trails and the age limit
The Committee also recommends:
That the Department of Transport and Main Roads further investigate a mechanism where designated and controlled public access areas may be used safely by compliant e-mobility devices, with minimal restrictions.
Confused what this is about? In short, pork barrelling from the Chair of the committee, Jim McDonald, whose seat of Lockyer includes the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. Throughout the public hearings process, the Chair was told over and over again that the draft Bill would completely kill tourism and small business on the rail trail, which is incredibly popular and a huge driver of the local economy. So the committee has recommended that rail trails and mountain bike parks should be exempt from all the e-mobility laws, including the over-16 age limit.
It’s hard to understand why children under 16 would be capable of handling a pedal-assist bicycle on the rail trail, but not somewhere like the Kedron Brook Bikeway, or even their own street. This is not to mention the illogical implication that it will be legal for children to ride their pedal-assist bicycle on the trail, but not along the footpath into town to get a pie from the bakery.
Sadly, even with an “exemption” for the rail trail this Bill is likely to have a devastating impact on small businesses who rely on family tourism.
Transition and review
Finally, the Committee has recommended that:
The Government provide guidance material to shared e-mobility providers and other e-mobility hire companies to assist them to meet obligations under the legislation.
That the Department of Transport and Main Roads undertake a review of the regulatory changes implemented by the Bill, 12 months from the commencement of the provisions.
There’s nothing wrong with either of these recommendations, but they point to the bigger issue with this Bill: how sloppy and rushed the entire process has been. There’s a matter of weeks before the Government’s self-imposed 1 July deadline for these laws to come into effect, and there’s simply no way that the Department of Transport and Main Roads has the resources to implement all of these recommendations into a new Bill, consult adequately with stakeholders, and run a public education campaign before then.
If this Bill passes, you can bet your bottom dollar the 12-month review will be overwhelmed with issues that could have been avoided altogether.