Police are cracking down on dangerous behaviour by food delivery riders in Melbourne, issuing numerous fines over the past month.
On one night last week, police issued 37 fines in just a few hours after detecting multiple riders travelling on the footpath, riding through red lights and using mobile phones while riding.
Operation Pathfinder is targeting a range of e-bike, e-scooter, motor scooter, bicycle and motorcycle riding offences.
The operation follows reports of dangerous riding behaviour involving bikes and e-bikes at peak times for food delivery.
The operation follows reports of dangerous riding behaviour involving bikes and e-bikes at peak times for food delivery.
Officers from Melbourne East Police Station patrolled key hot spots in the city, including Little Bourke Street, Bourke Street and Flinders Street, and at peak pick up times.
Police report that the most common offences detected throughout the operation for those using e-bikes, e-scooters or motor scooters included riding on a footpath ($198 fine), driving on the wrong side of a divided road ($395), using a mobile phone while riding ($593) and failing to obey traffic lights ($494).
Officers engaged with riders and other road users during the operation and educated them about relevant road rules to ensure they are equipped with the right information to conduct themselves safely on the road.
New police intelligence shows collisions involving bikes, e-bikes and motor scooters are increasing: in the first six months of this year there were 29 collisions involving e-bikes in the city and 18 involving motor scooters.
When compared to the last six months of last year, both e-bike and motor scooter collisions in the city have doubled.
In total, there have been 284 collisions in Melbourne this year involving bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and motor scooters.
Melbourne East Senior Sergeant, Tania Connolly, said: “Peak hour is often a busy time in the city, with lots of pedestrians and other road users around which presents a real risk to safety.
“It’s not only frustrating, but also incredibly dangerous to have e-bike riders zooming past pedestrians on the footpath, weaving in and out of traffic or disobeying traffic lights.
“We know more people are choosing options such as electric bikes and scooters to get around the city, and we want to make sure not only their devices are up to standard, but they are fully aware of the rules.
“We encourage everyone accessing roads and footpaths to have patience and make sure you are looking out for others.”
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