E-bikes and e-scooters are in the spotlight again.

That’s because Queensland, as part of a parliamentary inquiry, is pushing for the nation’s most comprehensive review of the use and safety of e-mobility devices. This includes electric scooters and electric bikes.

After months of hearings and more than 1,200 submissions, the inquiry has produced 28 recommendations. These cover everything from age limits to requiring riders to have at least a learner driver’s licence.

These recommendations are the latest attempt to make e-mobility devices safer, particularly for younger riders. Just last week, two teenagers were killed in an e-bike crash south of Brisbane, the most recent e-bike incident involving younger riders.

So will these recommendations work? And are they based on evidence?

Discussions about e-mobility safety have mostly focused on e-scooters, which are electric-powered scooters ridden standing up. But recent research suggests e-bikes may pose the same, or even greater, risk to riders.

A 2025 analysis examined nearly 14,000 injuries involving either e-scooters, e-bikes or conventional bikes, treated in US emergency departments. This study found injuries among e-scooter riders were no more severe than those sustained by e-bike users or conventional cyclists.

Evidence from Europe supports this finding. One 2025 study compared injury rates among e-scooter and e-bike riders across seven European cities. After controlling for other factors including location, usage........

© The Conversation