Illegal motorbikes are to be seized and crushed on the spot by NSW Police in a crackdown on their growing use on roads and paths.
Police have now been empowered to target the growing number of throttle-only, high-powered electric motorbikes, the government says.
So-called “fat bikes” and other throttle-only devices like those ridden by 40 riders across Sydney Harbour Bridge last Tuesday in a social media stunt are not legal in NSW and will be crushed, the government says.
NSW Police say an American man, 26, has been fined $562 after the group were tracked from the bridge to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
The government is also buying mobile ‘dyno units’ that can measure the bike’s electric power source to see if it cuts out completely at 25km/h, the legal maximum.
If an electric bike is found to be illegal at the roadside, police can crush it to ensure it does not return to the road.
ELECTRIC MOTORBIKES MAYHEM
NSW Transport Minister John Graham says they have listened “loud and clear” to concerns about souped-up e-bikes and the behaviour that goes with them.
“If you are breaking the rules and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assisted e-bike, expect it to be removed from your possession and crushed,” he says.
“Illegal bikes will end up as a twisted wreck so they can’t rejoin the road. We will ensure e-bikes behave as bicycles, not motorbikes.”
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley says that “we’re drawing a line in the sand”.
“Illegal, high-powered e-bikes aren’t harmless fun. Anyone thinking they can slip under the radar should take this as their final warning — if your bike does not meet the rules, it will be destroyed,” she says.
“We’re backing police with the tools they need. If a bike breaks the rules, it’s gone for good.”
She also says that parents have a role to play as well.
“If you buy, or allow a child to ride, a high-powered e-bike that doesn’t meet the rules, you’re not just gambling with their safety, you’re gambling with the bike. There will be no exceptions.”
Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison says this is not just a city problem.
“Communities across regional NSW are dealing with illegal e-bikes ridden at dangerous speeds on footpaths, roads and town centres; too many people are being seriously injured.
“People deserve to feel safe walking, riding or driving in their own communities and that means drawing a hard line between a bicycle and an illegal e-bike.”
Not all e-bikes sold in shops are legal, the government says; many of them sold as e-bikes are illegal electric motorbikes with throttle operation (no pedalling above 6km/h, excessive power output or modified speed limiters.
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