Blaming Individuals Won’t Fix Streets That Are Failing Us
Two tragic crashes — one on the Sunshine Coast, one in inner Sydney — have once again exposed how quickly Australia defaults to individual blame while ignoring the systems that create danger.
On the Sunshine Coast, eight-year-old Zeke Hondow died after a collision with a teenager riding a high-powered e-motorbike on a narrow, outdated shared path. The 15-year-old is now being charged as an adult (refer to ABC article).
In Sydney, a man in his 30’s riding a fully legal 25 km/h e-bike was killed when struck by a garbage truck in Ultimo — and within hours, the NSW Premier was on radio blaming the speed limits of e-bikes (refer to ABC article).
Different states, different circumstances.
Same response: blame the person in front of you, never the system behind them.
What’s Missing From the Conversation?
Neither tragedy was caused by a single person’s behaviour.
They were shaped by conditions designed and approved by adults:
shared paths too narrow and unsafe for modern use
intersections with no safe cycling infrastructure
product regulations that allow dangerous devices to be sold
outdated Australian standards that prioritise vehicle flow over human safety
cities built around speed, mass, and convenience — not people
We keep blaming children, riders, and “risky behaviour”, while the real causes remain unexamined.
A System Designed to Produce Harm
Australia has created a transport environment where:
a child can buy a high-powered electric motorbike online
a person on a legal e-bike must share space with multi-tonne trucks
councils ignore known hazards for years
governments refuse to build protected networks
“meeting the standard” is used as a shield, even when the standard is outdated
These are not accidents.
They are predictable outcomes of choices made by adults in positions of power.
Real Accountability Starts Upstream
If we want fewer tragedies, we must shift focus from blaming individuals to fixing systems:
Safe-by-design product regulation
Stop dangerous devices before they reach consumers.Build streets which encourage people to walk and ride a bike.
Build infrastructure to encourage people to walk and ride a bike, set speed limits that actually save lives and design crossings that allow people walking enough time and space to feel comfortable.
These changes save lives. Blaming individuals does not.
The Hard Truth
The child on the Sunshine Coast was not responsible for the system that failed him.
The man in Ultimo was not responsible for the lack of safe infrastructure that led to his death.
If we keep blaming individuals, we will keep repeating the same tragedies — and the system responsible will carry on unchanged.
