Teens risk $320 fine in 'extremely dangerous' act on busy Aussie motorway

Yahoo

18-03-2025

A group of teenagers have stunned motorists in Sydney with their 'unacceptable' behaviour on a major motorway. Riding e-bikes and scooters through a tunnel alongside cars travelling at 70km/h, several of them ride one-handed as they record each other on their phones.
The shocking vision was filmed on General Holmes Drive in a tunnel outside Sydney Airport. While seven boys can be seen on the mobile phone footage, the woman who recorded it said there were 'about 30' teens in total.
'I was honestly just gobsmacked,' she wrote online. 'Maybe it's legal, but it just seemed soooo dangerous in that very moment of driving next to them.
'A few had phones out, cars were beeping, kids were flipping the bird… just thought how wild, who do they belong to.'
Another woman who saw the group as she was driving in the other direction said she also 'could't believe' what she was seeing.
While e-bikes are usually safe and legal, it's the illegally modified versions that have become a point of frustration for drivers and pedestrians alike. These modifications pose a 'real issue' and mar the reputation of electronic bikes, Peter McLean, CEO of Bicycle NSW, told Yahoo News.
'Some of them do go extremely fast. Some of them are geared to do 60, 70, 80 and even, in some cases, over 100 km/h,' he said.
'With something that's basically very little design, quality construction or quality materials, it's terrifying to be honest."
"When they're not wearing a helmet they've got pretty much a 100 per cent chance of a fatality. It's pretty serious."Peter McLean, CEO of Bicycle NSW
In NSW, riding a bicycle or e-bike in motorway tunnels is illegal. The penalty for bicycle riders disobeying road access rules is $320, with a maximum court-imposed penalty of $2,200.
McLean said tunnels should be avoided by cyclists and pedestrians, as it's simply 'not designed for anything other than motor vehicles'.
'There's no safe separation or safety alternatives designed in those tunnels for pedestrians or bicycle users, and therefore they're extremely unsafe environments for those as modes,' he said.
'It's one of the reasons why Bicycle NSW is advocating pretty much every day on safe infrastructure options for bicycle users, to make sure that they've got safe alternatives.'
While he praised 'safe and responsible' e-bike riders who follow the rules, McClean said the biggest mistake being made by many cyclists was the lack of etiquette and respect on the road.
'They're certainly, in some instances, riding irresponsibly and unsafely and not really considering other road users. Our roads are there to share, and it makes our job at Bicycle NSW harder when you've got irresponsible people out doing the total opposite and not considering all the road users,' he said.
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