00:00On Friday night we ran another e-bike operation in the Wollongong, Shell Harbour and Sutherland
00:05Shire areas.
00:07During that operation, 22 non-compliant e-bikes were seized by the police and a number of
00:12fines were issued.
00:14We're reminding everyone that e-bikes need to comply with the law.
00:19I'm asking parents to make sure that they check their children's devices.
00:23We understand that bikes can play a significant role in getting people out and about.
00:31We're not concerned about the compliant bikes, we're concerned about the non-compliant bikes.
00:36If the bike goes faster than 6km an hour without being pedalled or provides any motor assistance
00:41beyond 25km an hour or has a motor above 500 watts, it is non-compliant.
00:48We do have the power to seize these devices and they can be forfeited to the Crown.
00:54Recently we have seen a number of serious injuries and indeed there have been fatalities where
00:59people have been hit by these vehicles.
01:02And during the operation, a police officer suffered a serious injury to his leg requiring
01:06surgery.
01:07He remains in hospital.
01:08We wish him a speedy recovery but it also highlights how dangerous these devices can be.
01:15They can weigh up to 45 to 50 kilos by the time you add a human being to that object.
01:22You've got close to 100 kilos worth of mass travelling at speed.
01:26If a pedestrian is struck by one of these devices with that amount of weight, serious injuries
01:31can occur as stated.
01:33We've seen young children hurt, older people hurt, people of all ages hurt and indeed police
01:39officers hurt.
01:40We want to make sure that these devices are used safely and appropriately.
01:45So please check the devices.
01:48We will be scaling up our operations.
01:51People have had enough time and enough warning to get these devices compliant.
01:55If you have modified them or you suspect they have been modified, it is time to make sure
02:00they are compliant before they are used in a public place.
02:03The New South Wales government, we are serious about getting these highly illegal and dangerous
02:09bikes off our streets.
02:10Now, we know that e-bikes play a really important role in our transport ecosystem, but what we
02:17are talking about here is getting the highly dangerous and illegal ones off our bikes.
02:22Now, some of these bikes that have been seized can be going up to 63 kilometres because they
02:28have been modified, 63 kilometres.
02:31That is a highly dangerous bike in the hands of the wrong person.
02:35These things were never, ever designed to be ridden on the road and particularly those
02:41that have been modified are even more dangerous.
02:44They don't have the suspension, they don't have the braking power that is needed for when
02:48they are travelling at these speeds.
02:50As was said before, so much warning has been given now to our communities about getting
02:57these illegal, dangerous bikes off our streets.
03:00Our messaging is very, very clear, particularly to parents.
03:04Check your bikes.
03:06Check your kids' bikes.
03:07Make sure that they have not been modified.
03:10Make sure that they have not been tampered.
03:12We know that people have spent a lot of money, sometimes, sometimes up to $7,000 buying these things.
03:18We're not enjoying taking these things off the road, but as we've heard, the number of fatalities
03:24has increased.
03:25We know that ED presentations are going through the roof.
03:28We have a responsibility to keep our roads safe.
03:32And so it is incredibly important that we work together.
03:35And again, I point towards this great collaboration between police and Transport for New South Wales
03:41and getting these illegal, highly dangerous bikes off our streets.
03:45And now a couple of different sessions are going through up our streets.
03:49We can connect the police because we have people that are running down their streets.
03:50I'm going to connect the police because we're really high.
03:50And I'm going to connect to the police and their authorities.
03:51And I'm going to actually connect to the police and your police, but I want to connect the police
03:54You
