00:00E-bikes, like the ones behind me, have become a really popular way for people to commute
00:06around the major cities and towns across Australia, but what's got Victoria Police concerned
00:11is an alarming spike in the number of incidents.
00:14There's been 113 collisions on Victorian roads this year.
00:18That includes fatalities and some incidents that have left people in emergency rooms.
00:23That's compared to 144 for all of last year.
00:26Police say that this operation is designed to reduce road trauma following that spike
00:31in incidents.
00:32Police say 90% of the time the types of bikes involved in those collisions are overpowered,
00:37non-compliant or not being used in accordance with the road rules.
00:41Victoria Police says some bikes are considered overpowered and may even fall under the motorcycle
00:46category which means that they have to obey different rules and make sure that they're
00:50licensed and registered accordingly.
00:53Now this police operation will see officers on foot and in vehicles on the hunt for riders
00:57who are doing the wrong thing and they're promising big fines for people who aren't compliant.
01:02That'll be $611 for people using their phones while riding, $509 for failing to obey traffic
01:08lights.
01:09Riders without a helmet could be set back over $250 or over $200 for failing to give way.
01:15Victoria Police says that it understands the rules can be confusing but the onus is on individual
01:21riders to make sure that their bikes are compliant and of course to ride safely.
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