Woman riding e-bike with child fined $2500 as police crack down on ignored rule
The woman's morning school run took a very costly turn after she ran into the highway patrol.
One woman's morning school run has ended in her being slapped with more than $2,500 worth of fines after she was caught allegedly transporting a child on an electric bike unrestrained.
The 42-year-old Sydney woman, from Canley Vale in the city's west, was allegedly riding with a child on the e-bike on Monday morning when officers from Liverpool Highway Patrol stopped her near a school zone. Police say the woman was found to be breaching a number of offences, and therefore attracted four separate fines totalling $2,575.
The woman was fined for using an unregistered registrable Class A motor vehicle ($772), using an uninsured motor vehicle on the road ($772), being unlicensed ($644), and riding with a passenger under eight years not in a sidecar ($387).
Woman's morning school run ends with expensive bill
NSW Police shared images of the incident on social media with a warning to the public to be aware of the dangers of riding electric bikes unsafely.
Some people in the comments commended the police for pulling the woman over and said "these e-bikes are a vehicle, so many forget that" while others called NSW a "nanny state" and said the woman should've been shown leniency.
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Cyclists push for increased footpath access
In November, Yahoo News reported on renewed calls to allow cyclists to ride among pedestrians in Australia's two most populous states.
Cycling advocates say it is "nuts" riders aren't allowed to share footpaths with pedestrians in Melbourne and Sydney, and say scrapping the rule is "inevitable".
NSW and Victoria are the only two states that don't allow adults who are not accompanying children to cycle on footpaths, meaning millions in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as those across regional towns and cities, only have the option of cycling on the road.
"It has to happen because of the lack of support for separated bike lanes," Edward Hore, President of the Australian Cycling Alliance, told Yahoo News Australia, saying many cyclists are "terrified" at the prospect of using busy roads.
The discussion has been thrust back into the spotlight after Wollongong City Council officially proposed such a change this week – a move supported by Bicycle NSW which is lobbying for a statewide ruling.
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