Trike riders drift onto the wrong side of the law
Low to the ground and travelling at break neck speed, they are the thrill-seeking trikers, descending Queensland's South East's steepest roads.
Trike drifter Aaron Tisdell said riders at Cedar Vale could reach speeds of 75 or 80 kilometres an hour.
"But other places we go top speeds are, you know, hundred plus."
The steeper the better, according to Robb Tratt from Street n Park.
"[Like] Mountt Gravatt, Mountt Tamborine, where there are some nice sweeping bends," he said.
Mr Tisdell and his friends modified trikes are fitted with PVC piping to reduce their tyres' grip on the road.
Local drift trikers and their exploits are catalogued online on sites like YouTube.
"Who can slide the back end past the front end they are all tricks and things people are trying to achieve on the sliders," Mr Tratt said.
Trike sliders say because of the speeds they travel at it it is not always possibly to stay on the right side of the road, or the law.
And pushing the limits around blind corners is putting the trike sliding community on a collision course with oncoming traffic and police.
"We don't want to upset anybody and we want the sport to grow," Mr Tisdell said.
"A lot of the time we will often stop into a police station and let them know where we are."
The list of roads where it is illegal to ride trikes is long though, according to Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Stevens.
"They can't use the trikes on the roads that we've seen footage on the internet," he said.
Police say they risk fines of $47 for venturing onto the wrong side of the road on anything other than non-lined residential roads where the speed limit is 50 or less.
Night riding like this is also illegal and potentially very dangerous.
Police warn with Christmas around the corner kids both old and young need to be aware of the rules.
"I would just encourage the people that do have them perhaps look at organising some sort of specific event that would enable them to do it on closed roads where they can enjoy them safely and legally," Acting Senior Sergeant Stevens said.
"Sometimes it is a little impossible but we try our best to stick to the road rules," Mr Tisdell said.
Which is often difficult in a sport where the less traction the greater the attraction for this growing group of adrenaline junkies.
News break – November 19
