A DOCTOR has warned electric scooters and modified 'fat bikes' illegally cruising Newcastle paths are a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Concerns raised by paediatrician John Boulton AM with police, the state government and council have bounced between the agencies for more than a year with no clear answers.
In the meantime, riders - often young and without helmets - continue to tear along shared paths at Bathers Way and Honeysuckle at a risk to themselves and others, he said.
Dr Boulton told the Newcastle Herald he had seen an "explosion" in the use of thick-wheeled e-bikes and e-scooters in the past year.
E-scooters are illegal in public areas, while electronically power-assisted bikes have a wattage limit and must cut off when the cyclist reaches 25 kilometres per hour or stops pedalling at a speed more than 6 kilometres per hour.
Dr Boulton said it appeared some e-bikes were modified to effectively become "electric motorbikes" that were unregistered, unlicensed and quiet, and some reckless riders were ruining it for other cyclists and e-bikers.
"I find it's quite distressing and annoying because it's very dangerous indeed," he said.
"This is a catastrophe waiting to happen."
Dr Boulton has seen first-hand the trauma that can be caused by riding without a helmet.
"Going at any speed, really at all, as people in fact recognise when they have just stumbled and hit their head, can be absolutely catastrophic," he said.
"There are enough [riders] who go along very fast indeed, and dangerously, and if any elderly person or two or three-year-old child was hit by one of those, it would cause a serious head injury and probably kill the child."
Even more minor injuries, like broken bones, could cause ongoing physical and emotional effects, and could impact the relationship between generations in Newcastle, he said.
"Not only is it damaging for the child, it is dreadful for the family and people feel at a loss as to what to do," he said.
"If we have a situation where there are people who are behaving recklessly, then we become on the defensive, and rather than help each other, we are fearful of each other, which is a dreadful consequence."
Dr Boulton said revitalised shared pathways in Newcastle like Bathers Way and Honeysuckle were attractive to elderly people, and young parents and grandparents with little kids.
Just this week, his wife was out with her walker when a bike was spotted weaving between people at what Dr Boulton estimated to be at least 40 kilometres per hour.
He has called for speed bumps to be installed on paths and a speed limit to be enforced and monitored.
He said the next level would be to register e-bikes and enforce licenses for riders.
"We just can't afford to not take action which will prevent irresponsible driving," he said.
Dr Boulton began raising his concerns before the state election last year.
In a letter from current minister Yasmin Catley in March 2023, she said Newcastle police and highway patrol would monitor the situation and explore opportunities for high visibility operations.
In correspondence from City of Newcastle, Dr Boulton was told council was not delegated to police the speed and behaviours of footpath users, but would work with local police officers.
The Herald requested an interview with Newcastle police regarding e-scooter safety, which was knocked back, and instead deferred to Transport for NSW for further comment on e-bikes and e-scooters.
A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said about 16 per cent of people in NSW had used an e-scooter. During 2022, there were 37 crashes reported. Early indications were that 49 crashes were reported in 2023, with two fatalities and 43 rider injuries.
"Any people riding e-scooters in public spaces in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens [local government areas] are breaking the law and fines apply," the spokesperson said.
Dr Boulton feared further tragedy could strike if authorities don't work together and come up with a strategy soon, but Newcastle has already suffered e-scooter trauma.
Last month, a man in his 30s died at Lake Macquarie after falling from an e-scooter.
In January, a four-year-old girl and a 38-year-old woman were riding an e-scooter together when they crashed at Raymond Terrace and were hospitalised.
A man was sentenced in court after an e-scooter shot out of his hands at a Cardiff shopping centre in November, striking a five-year-old girl and breaking two bones in her leg.
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