Illegal, high-power e-bikes to be crushed in crackdown

Police will have extra powers to seize and destroy illegal e-bikes, which authorities say fuel anti-social behaviour.

Mirroring a move made in WA, NSW Police will be able to crush non-compliant, high-powered e-bikes, including so-called ‘fat bikes’ and other gas-only devices.

The move was in response to a controversial social media video on Tuesday that showed a group of 40 e-bike riders and motorcyclists riding dangerously on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The convoy could be seen speeding past cars and wheeling along the landmark, prompting condemnations and calls for a crackdown on illegal devices.

“We have heard loud and clear the community’s concerns about souped-up e-bikes and the anti-social behavior that seems to go hand in hand with them,” Transport Minister John Graham said in a statement on Sunday. he said.

“Motorists and owners of illegal e-bikes must now hear us loud and clear: if you are breaking the rules and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assist e-bike, expect it to be taken away and crushed.”

In addition to the fact that e-bike batteries do not exceed 500 watts, they can only work as a pedal assistant and are deactivated when the vehicle reaches a speed of 25 km/h.

Anything that exceeds these power or speed limits must be registered as a moped or motorcycle.

The police currently have the power to seize vehicles that are prohibited from traffic.

Government officials said the new powers simplify seizure laws designed with cars and motorcycles in mind.

It was stated that it would be a change to a wider package of reforms tackling unsafe e-bikes.

E-bikes and other high-powered vehicles, many selling for more than $2000, have become a lightning rod for controversy in some parts of Australia.

A teenage boy who allegedly killed a 59-year-old man while riding an unlicensed electric motorcycle in a Perth park in July is awaiting trial on charges of manslaughter.

At least 100 illegal devices were seized during a Queensland police raid in December and motorists were fined 2,100.