“Look out, lady! I’ll make you a f*in’ speedbump.” At least, that’s what I think the kid said.
He was moving so ridiculously fast that his words went by in the same manner as his e-scooter – in a whoosh. The young reprobate was on a souped-up, glossy flying machine: the illegal kind.
Amid discussion about the government watering down its initially tough laws around e-mobility devices, what we do about illegal, modified machines seems to have been put in the too-hard basket.
It could be argued there is no need for such conversations, because the super-powered devices are already illegal and just waiting to be detected and collected, with their riders chided and charged.
But while the miscreants who ride the illegal bikes and scooters get caught when something catastrophic happens (such as hitting an unwary runner or an older person crossing the street), no one seems to know how to catch the young troublemakers – including the one I crossed paths with – who simply terrorise, taunt and take off.
They have no number plates to ID them. They are unlicensed. Helmets are used to obscure their faces rather than protect their numbskulls. Proper personal particulars are hard to note when someone goes by at the speed of light.
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Queensland Police and transport authorities also face the difficult task of distinguishing between legal and illegally modified machines on sight. Too many unlawful modifications are deliberately designed to be concealed.
And even when they do get up to dastardly deeds, the crims take off across parks and through bushes, making them very hard to follow and catch.
The result is that the government may have tried to clamp the wheels of some riders, but those who need to be taken off the highways and byways, paths and parkways are not likely to disappear any time soon.
There must be a renewed focus on stronger enforcement against illegal modifications and tougher penalties for those who deliberately bypass safety standards: the riders and those who help them, such as parents, and those who offer the Frankenstein-ing of e-devices for a fee.
Stopping the degenerates who thumb their nose at the law and cause chaos without care on their speed machines must be the priority.
Dr Jane Stephens is a UniSC journalism lecturer, media commentator and writer.
