A woman using an e-bike to take a child to school in New South Wales has been slugged with $2575 in fines.
Liverpool City Highway Patrol pulled over the 42-year-old woman in Canley Vale near a school zone.
Police allege the woman informed them she was dropping off her child passenger, who was sitting behind her on the e-bike, at their school.
She was fined for four offences: using an unregistered Class A motor vehicle on the road ($772); using an uninsured motor vehicle on the road ($772); operating a vehicle without a licence ($644); and riding a motorbike with a passenger under eight years old not in a sidecar ($387).
“Police would like to remind the community that these E-Bikes are considered motor vehicles in the state of New South Wales and are required to comply with all ADR (Australian Design Rules),” said the NSW Police Force’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Command.
“They need to be road registered, display official number plates issued by Service NSW and the rider must hold a Class R driver licence and wear the correct protective helmet as per AS/NZS 1698.”
Transport for NSW says there are two types of permitted e-bikes in the state – power-assisted pedal cycles and electrically power-assisted cycles – which are permitted to be used on NSW roads without the rider requiring a licence.
A power-assisted pedal cycle has a maximum power output of up to 200 watts and can’t be propelled only by the motor or motors, which are instead there to help the rider.
An electrically power-assisted cycle can have up to 500 watts of power but this output must be progressively reduced once the bike’s speed increases beyond 6km/h, and cut off entirely once either you stop pedalling after hitting this speed or your bike reaches a speed of 25km/h.
It’s unclear how the woman’s e-bike didn’t meet these criteria.
Electric mopeds, which can have a top speed of 50km/h and may be pedal-assisted, are legal for use on NSW roads provided they either have a compliance plate or are entered on the Register of Approved Vehicles.
These must also be registered, while the rider must have a licence to operate the vehicle.
Petrol-powered bikes remain illegal for use on New South Wales roads, as do e-scooters unless they’re part of a shared scheme.
