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Authorities are set to gain enhanced authority to confiscate and dismantle unlawful e-bikes, which they claim are contributing to rising anti-social incidents.
Reflecting a strategy already adopted in Western Australia, law enforcement in New South Wales will soon have the capability to destroy non-compliant, high-powered e-bikes. This includes devices known as “fat bikes” and those operating solely on throttle power.
This decision follows the uproar caused by a social media clip depicting a group of 40 e-bike and motorcycle riders recklessly navigating across the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this week.
The footage showed the riders speeding past vehicles and performing wheelies on the iconic structure, sparking widespread criticism and demands for tougher measures against illegal e-bikes.
“We want to be unequivocal: those operating illegal e-bikes should be aware that if you flout the laws and your bike doesn’t adhere to the specified criteria for pedal-assisted models, it will be seized and destroyed,” declared Transport Minister John Graham on Sunday.
“Illegal bikes will end up as a twisted wreck so they can’t rejoin the road.”
In addition to being no more than 250 watts, e-bike batteries can only operate as a pedal-assist and cut out when the vehicle reaches a speed of 25km/h.
Anything that exceeds those power or speed limits must be registered as a moped or motorcycle.
Police already have powers to seize vehicles that are not road legal.
State government officials said the fresh powers simplify seizure laws that were designed with cars and motorbikes in mind.
It will be one tweak in a wider reform package tackling unsafe e-bikes, they said.
E-bikes, many retailing for more than $2,000, and other high-powered vehicles have become a lightning rod for controversy in parts of Australia.
Despite differences in wording, all states and territories define e-bikes as pedal bicycles with a motorised component, which are broken down into more specific categories based on where the motor is installed.
One issue that has not escaped regulators’ notice is that e-bikes can be modified to have higher or lower power output.
In Australia, the maximum power output for an e-bike is 250 watts, with a speed limit of 25km/h.
If it exceeds these limitations, it will be considered an illegal road vehicle if used outside of private property.
Western Australia is the only state with a general minimum age for e‑bike riders, where it’s set at 16. In other jurisdictions, there is no explicit minimum age to ride a legally compliant e‑bike.
However, all states and territories have set a minimum age for e-scooter riders.
In most states, it’s 16, and in the Northern Territory, it’s 18, although states like Queensland allow use from the age of 12 if under parental supervision.
A teenage boy is awaiting trial for manslaughter after allegedly killing a 59-year-old while riding an unlicensed electric motorbike through a park in Perth in July.
At least 100 illegal devices were seized and 2,100 fines handed to riders during a Queensland police crackdown in December.
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