Website: bikehero.au
A delay to the introduction of legislation to introduce age restrictions for e-bike riders across the state, announced earlier this past week, means communities and parents are once again stepping up to ensure their children are riding responsibly and are given every support and encouragement they need to do so safely.
One instance of being part of the solution, rather than inciting more of the problem, has been made by two local families; Daniel, a firefighter, and Mary, a registered nurse and former paramedic, who have four boys, and Paul, with his wife Trish, both designers, with five youngsters between them - have launched 'BikeHero'.
With Christmas approaching, parents and riders who want to make sure the e-bikes they're buying or riding comply with NSW laws, will find BikeHero useful - as will those who want to up the safety skills of their children.
This Issue, the Profile of the Week shares the what, why and how.
What is BikeHero?
BikeHero is an online e-bike safety course for Australian teens, from age 11+, built on Australian road rules. It runs through a parent-managed family account, so the teen does the learning and the parent can see how it is going. There are eight modules: E-Bike Basics, Essential Gear, Where to Ride, Traffic Rules, Battery Safety, Emergency Help, Safety Tips and Traffic Navigation. Alongside the modules there are practice games, illustrated ride stories, and a practice triple zero call where the teen answers the questions a real call-taker would ask.
There is also a legal checker on the site that needs no account at all. Six questions about the rider, the bike and where it will be ridden, and it gives you guidance for your state or territory. A lot of parents do not know whether the bike in their garage is legal where their kid rides it, and the rules differ by state, by the rider's age and by the type of bike.
BikeHero Modules. Screenshot supplied
Is it Legal Checker. Screenshot supplied
What are the benefits?
The honest version is that it closes a gap. A teen can be handed a bike that moves at traffic speed with no training, no test and no supervision, and the first time they learn anything about traffic is when something goes wrong. BikeHero is designed to give them those decisions before they need them, in a format they will actually sit through, and to give the parent something better than nagging. The parent dashboard shows which modules are finished and how the quizzes went, which turns it into a conversation instead of an argument.
We are also careful not to overclaim. The completion certificate is a record that your teen worked through the course, not a licence or a test of riding competency, and we say exactly that on the site.
What is the cost?
Pilot membership is AU$25 for three months, which covers one parent account and one rider. Extra riders are AU$15 each for three months. It renews every three months unless you cancel. We call it pilot pricing because it is held for the first 1,000 families, who are the ones helping us shape it. If you are buying it for someone else there is a gift option, AU$25 one off, with no renewal.
How can people access this?
Go to bikehero.au and click Get started, create the parent account, then add your rider. The legal checker sits on the same home page and needs no account, so any Pittwater parent can run that today without signing up for anything.
Why did you start BikeHero, and who are the founders?
Two peninsula families. Daniel Payne, a firefighter, and Mary Payne, a registered nurse and former paramedic. They have four boys. And me, Paul Gawman, with my wife Trish Steel, both designers. Five kids between us, two dogs and a cat.
It started with the number of teens we were watching ride these bikes around our area with no training at all, often two up, often with no helmet, usually with no idea what the car behind them is about to do. I spent my twenties and thirties on motorbikes and did several defensive rider courses, so the gap was obvious to me. Road position, being seen, reading hazards, looking where you want to go. None of that is instinct. Somebody has to teach it, and nobody was teaching it to these kids.
There was plenty of noise about banning e-bikes and almost nothing a parent could actually hand their teen. Nobody was going to build it for us, so we built it.
Does BikeHero have a motto?
Help your teen ride safer, without the arguments.
What is so great about getting out and about on your bike?
For a teenager it is often the first real independence they get. Getting themselves to the beach, to a mate's place, to training, without asking anyone for a lift. That is genuinely good for them, and it is worth saying that BikeHero is not trying to take it away. We are not anti e-bike. We would just rather the freedom came with the skills attached, the same way nobody hands a teenager the car keys and wishes them luck.
Anything else?
Two things, if they are useful.
Local bike shops have started handing our cards to parents buying a teen's first e-bike, which is exactly the right moment for that conversation to happen. And the families using BikeHero so far are all Northern Beaches, so Pittwater readers would not be early to something untested locally, they would be joining their neighbours.
One more, on the question parents always ask. Families pay for BikeHero, so the teen is never the product. We do not sell family data, there are no advertising networks, and nothing follows your teen off our site.
BikeHero Homepage if using your mobile phone. Screenshot supplied
