{"id":1045981,"date":"2026-09-06T01:13:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1045981\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T01:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:13:30","slug":"lea-annes-ebike-has-given-her-freedom-at-67-now-some-older-queenslanders-may-be-forced-to-stop-riding-queensland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1045981\/","title":{"rendered":"Lea-Anne\u2019s ebike has given her freedom at 67. Now some older Queenslanders may be forced to stop riding | Queensland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lea-Anne Martin says buying her first ebike 14 years ago set her free. For decades the 67-year-old was dependent on Brisbane\u2019s patchy, infrequent and unreliable public transport system<\/a> to get around.<\/p>\n

These days, with her ebike, Martin can manage trips up to 25km away from her house, taking her as far as Redcliffe\u2019s beaches, her local shops, friends and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy bike gives me such a feeling of independence. I don\u2019t have to wait for a timetable, train or bus, or if it\u2019s even running on the weekend<\/a>,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t need my husband to drop me off. I can do it by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Active transport groups and experts say ebikes have become popular among older people<\/a>, with the pedal assist helping people overcome any physical limitations.<\/p>\n

But new nation-first Queensland legislation could challenge that. On Monday, Queensland will become one of the first jurisdictions in the world<\/a> to require a driver\u2019s licence to ride an ebike in public.<\/p>\n

Martin says she will either have to abandon her ebike or get her first driver\u2019s licence in her 60s. Other older Queenslanders may be banned entirely if they have become medically unable to drive a car.<\/p>\n

Martin uses her ebike to travel to her community centre at Deagon, among many other things. Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The co-owner of EveryBody eBikes, Andrea Herklots, says older Australians make up the majority of the customers of her specialist store, which adapts and customises the vehicles to suit the needs of some riders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of prospective riders has just ballooned upwards,\u201d Herklots says.<\/p>\n

She says many of her customers are older people wanting to stay fit and healthy into retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody knows that you need to keep moving to regain or to retain the muscle strength that you\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s the only way I get out\u2019Clive Bassett will need to apply for a medical exemption to Queensland\u2019s driver\u2019s licence requirement to continue riding his ebike. Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Clive Bassett, 82, surrendered his drivers\u2019 licence<\/a> for medical reasons years ago. As a result, he cannot reapply for one.<\/p>\n

From Monday, under Queensland law, that means he can also no longer ride his ebike with friends. His family is concerned that without it he will be cut off from the world and denied his primary form of exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only way I get out of the house,\u201d he says. \u201cI ride about five times a week and try to do over 100k a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

He will now need to apply for a medical exemption to the state\u2019s licence requirement.<\/p>\n

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The Australian Medical Association Queensland president, Erica Gannon, says there are no appropriate clinical guidelines to determine if someone is safe to ride an e-mobility device, making it difficult for doctors to issue medical exemptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors are also concerned about their legal risk if a patient has a crash and the impact on their therapeutic relationships with patients if they refuse to sign the exemption form,\u201d Gannon says.<\/p>\n

Without a clear way to keep riding, the Bicycle Queensland chief executive, Matt Burke, says the laws could even lead some people to unsafely retain their licence longer, to preserve their independence.<\/p>\n

Bassett on his ebike \u2026 \u2018I ride about five times a week and try to do over 100k a week.\u2019 Photograph: David Kelly\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

At 75, Queenslanders are required to get a medical certificate<\/a> to keep their driver\u2019s licence, renewed annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeniors are often using the safest of safe bike paths and they are not our fastest riders,\u201d Burke says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to have seniors holding on to their licences and driving and that won\u2019t be good for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from requiring a driver\u2019s licence, the new laws also set a minimum age of 16, give the Queensland police new powers to seize ebikes, and set a 12km\/h speed limit for riding near pedestrians, among other changes.<\/p>\n

The state government has justified its licensing obligation as a way to ensure that only people who have the capacity to operate an ebike does so.<\/p>\n

Queensland\u2019s minister for transport, Brent Mickelberg, said at the weekend that: \u201cFor too long, young hoons and young hooligans have held communities to ransom, and we made a commitment to ensure that we tackled this very challenging issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lea-Anne Martin says buying her first ebike 14 years ago set her free. For decades the 67-year-old was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1045982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50],"class_list":["post-1045981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-australia","tag-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117221447458441162","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1045982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}