There's a few people around me that ride them around and I feel the same way as you. I very very rarely ride my motorbike wihtout at least kevlar leggings and a kevlar jacket but I see these inexperienced riders riding through the streets and footpaths at 40km/h with a bicycle helmet on and a kid on the back, sometimes with a helmet, sometimes without.

It's dumb. It's also unfortunate that it's going to take ~10 people to die/permanent disability before anything is done about it.

I think you're right about the design of the bikes too. The ones I see are definitely designed to look and function like a moped/motorcycle.