A 12-year-old on an e-rideable capable of speeds up to 80km/h was one of dozens of juveniles charged in a WA Police crackdown on dangerous use of illegal bikes and scooters.
Special police taskforce Operation Moorhead has seized 36 e-rideables and charged 25 children aged 11-16, along with four adults, amid reports of shocking behaviour including throwing objects at people and vehicles, intimidating members of the public, riding recklessly on public roads, evading police, and posting their wild antics to social media.
Acting Inspector Scott Gillis told media on Wednesday it was “disturbing” to see the unruly behaviour play out across social media, particularly when it put the community at risk.
“Not only are they reckless riding, but damaging cars, riding recklessly in the vicinity of pedestrians and directing aggressive behaviour towards members of the public,” Mr Gillis said.
“WA Police will not tolerate anti-social behaviour that endangers our community, including unsafe activities involving e-rideables. This is totally unacceptable.”
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targeting antisocial behaviour in the community. Credit: WA Police
Hot spots for dangerous riding were coastal strips, around fast food outlets, car parks, and particularly worryingly, major roads.
“They’re in and out of traffic without a care in the world,” Mr Gillis said.
Among some of the worse behaviour reported was juveniles throwing rocks at cars.
“Any object being thrown at a car is incredibly dangerous. We don’t know how people are going to react if they do see this, they could swerve and have a serious crash, plus it can also damage or severely injure the motorist,” Mr Gillis said.
“These are juveniles. They have no experience in relation to use of motorbikes or motor vehicles, and they’re on a major road, so they lack that experience and knowledge that most people have over years, so it just generates so much danger to the community and themselves.”
Seized illegal e-rideables, believed to have been bought online, were crushed by police in the same way an unlicensed motorbike would be.
“There’s no going back. They don’t go back into our community. They’re destroyed,” Mr Gillis said.
targeting antisocial behaviour in the community. Credit: WA Police
Mr Gillis said parents had in some instances been unaware their children were engaging in dangerous behaviour.
“We encourage parents, guardians and all members of the public to be aware of the legalities when buying these types of devices for their children.
“Riding eRideables in an unsafe manner can have serious, even fatal consequences. WA Police will continue to target unsafe road user behavior, including the behaviour on eRideables.”
As part of Operation Moorhead, drones, helicopters and CCTV towers were being deployed to known areas.
In a message targeting young people not taking the laws seriously, Mr Gillis issued a stern warning: “take a long, hard look at your actions and see what we’ve been doing in relation to Operation Moorhead”.
“If you have your eRideable out in the community, we are going to find you and we are going to seize it, and it will be crushed.”
Two teenagers were rushed to hospital after the e-bike they were riding crashed with a car in Padbury on Saturday afternoon. A female passenger has been discharged but a male remains in hospital in a stable condition.
