Teen e-bike hoons charged over Brisbane tunnel crash
Parents have been warned about their children’s illegal e-bikes after police charged two teens over a crash in a Brisbane tunnel.
Source: Qld Police
A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with minor injuries after police allege he was part of a hoon gang that rode e-bikes in the 6.8-kilometre Clem 7 tunnel and crashed on January 23.
Police say the boy was among a group of young people who had ridden across inner Brisbane shortly before the crash.
On February 1, they carried out a search warrant at a home in Wexford Street, Kenmore Hills, where a non-compliant e-bike was seized.
The injured teenager was later charged with one count each of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, unlicensed driving, driving an unregistered vehicle, and driving an uninsured vehicle.
He was dealt with by police under the youth justice provisions.
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Brisbane City Tactical Crime Squad officers had also seized an alleged non-compliant e-bike and phone while executing a search warrant at a house in Scott Road, Herston, on January 29.
A 15-year-old Herston boy has since been charged with one count each of publishing material about particular offending behaviour (a so-called “post and boast” offence), unlicensed driving, driving an unregistered vehicle and driving an insured vehicle.
He was also dealt with under youth justice laws.
On Thursday, North Brisbane District Inspector Matt Blunn said the recent seizures sent a strong message to parents and riders that if someone committed an offence on Brisbane roads, the legal repercussions would follow them home.
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“Every guardian and rider have an important obligation to ensure any device ridden is compliant and being used in a safe manner,” he said.
“It is deeply concerning to see instances of these devices, some classified as unregistered electric motorcycles, being driven on any road, let alone a major arterial, by juveniles.”
“Ignorance is not an excuse when it comes to road safety.”
“Police take all reports of these offences seriously will continue to enforce, engage and educate riders and guardians on e-mobility device safety.”
“If you don’t follow the law, expect police to come knocking at your door.”
The Brisbane arrests are the latest in a spate of incidents Australia-wide, including a mass joy ride over the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier in February, that have sparked calls for law changes.
Separate e-bike accidents just days apart claimed two lives in Queensland last October: An eight-year-old died after a head-on collision between two e-bikes on the Sunshine Coast, and a 17-year-old rider was involved in a fatal crash with a car on the Gold Coast.
Other fatalities have included an e-bike rider in his 30s who died after colliding with a rubbish truck in Sydney in December (the fourth e-bike-related death in NSW in 2025), a 17-year-old who was the passenger on an e-bike involved in a collision on the Gold Coast in September, and a 15-year killed when he lost control of his e-bike and hit a pole in Tasmania on New Year’s Eve.
A teenage boy is awaiting trial for manslaughter after allegedly killing a 59-year-old while riding an unlicensed electric motorbike through a park in Perth in July.
Queensland police seized at least 100 illegal devices and handed 2100 fines to riders during a crackdown in December.
Mirroring a move in Western Australia, NSW has introduced legislation that will allow police to crush non-compliant, high-powered e-bikes, including so-called “fat bikes” and other throttle-only devices.
