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Children on a “ride-out” in Perth’s northern suburbs have posted vision of themselves throwing projectiles at cars and performing risky tricks on some of the city’s busiest roads.
A group of boys were spotted on Marmion Avenue and Whitfords Avenue in Hillarys at the weekend, hurling water balloons and, reportedly, donuts at cars.
In some cases, residents allege rocks were aimed at their vehicles and footage posted to social media shows the children veer in front cars on electric bikes.
Police spent the weekend chasing after the group, with the footage showing the boys performing tricks on West Coast Drive, and in the comments, threatening to hit police cars with water balloons.
A WA Police spokesperson said they were aware of the groups.
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“There were several reports made to police over the weekend regarding antisocial behaviour involving juveniles across the north-west coastal suburbs,” the spokesperson said.
“Officers responded to those incidents; however, in most cases, the individuals had left the area prior to police arrival and could not be located.”
Residents as far north as Banksia Grove have reported escalating behaviour recently from the ride-outs, which usually involve groups of up to 20 children using e-rideables and bikes to travel between suburbs.
The behaviour has continued even after WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch issued a stern warning last month that e-bikes were illegal and would be confiscated and crushed by police if caught being ridden in public.
“When they don’t meet the criteria of an e-rideable ... they are purely an unregistered motorcycle, and I think a lot of people purchasing these things think they are legal, and they are e-rideables, but unless they are quite slow ... these are unregistered motorcyclists,” Blanch told Radio 6PR.
“They are going to be seized and destroyed every single time – there is no giving them back, they are always heading to the crusher because they are not able to meet the registration requirements of state vehicles.”
Blanch said some families were spending up to $15,000 on the bikes, which was a “huge loss”.
The group behind the weekend’s activities often post to TikTok to show off their modified bikes in different locations in Perth.
An inquiry into the safety, regulation and penalties associated with e-rideables in WA has until December 4 to deliver its findings, meaning any changes to the regulations will have to wait until next year.
The inquiry was triggered following the death of Thanh Phan in Perth’s CBD earlier this year, when the Perth father was struck by an e-scooter being ridden by a drunk tourist from the UK who has since pleaded guilty to charges arising from the crash.
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