I have been noticing a substantial increase over the last few years in motorbikes missing license plates, most commonly on the freeway, and often riding with zero respect for other riders or the speed limit and other road rules. I am aware of the existence of license plate "flippers" that many use to hide/show the plate at will…
… what do you think could/should be done? No wrong answers.
Yeh, I call them temporary Australians
Mobile Organ donors.
Usually they’re so mangled they aren’t usable. Waste in life and death.
Fair, but they could also take out an innocent family at the same time. 😥
What if it was a wombat family escaping from a TikTokker from the USA?
What a stupid comment.
I've been ridding for over 15 years, don't own a car, I pay attention to every motorcycle accident i come across, it is so unlikely that anyone other than the rider is injured.
I've never heard of a licensed rider in this country injuring anyone else. I'm sure it happens but so rarely that it doesn't deserve to be mentioned anywhere near the amount it is.
Motorcycle ridding has built in excellent self accountability.
LOL
Too true!
And case of leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.
Plenty of illegal trail bike riders around here. Often doing wheelies, running lights and pulling on and off the road to use paths etc. More police on the roads would help because theyll jeeo doing it whike they arent going to get caught.
Cameras don't work if there is no plates to record.
Come out to 3064 , it's the wild west out here 💯
Way more money in getting people doing 2kmh over the limit on a straight stretch of the freeway, as well as easier.
So your suggestion would be install more cameras to help fund more police on the roads?
No, it would be for the police to focus on actual issues. Their focus on people doing 2kmh over the speed limit has only seen road deaths rise. Seems ineffective, except to government fine revenue.
This… An automated system that rakes in $mils per year from people driving their registered vehicles, often just trying to get to work vs spending an hour plus chasing a single motorcycle with multiple police and the small chance of even catching them only to find out they have no money anyway.
Easy money will win every time
Problem is, when Police engage in pursuit and the kid dies, fulfilling Darwinian justice, there's an outcry and things get hot politically.
I've seen all sorts of weird stuff in northern Tas that 20-30 years ago you'd never see.
• An SUV driving around regularly without front-end bodywork, radiator on display? Check.
• Kids doubling on scooters without helmets on a main road? Check.
• People on trail bikes that can't be ADR compliant — no lights, mirrors etc — weaving through traffic, onto footpaths and across public green spaces? Check.
• Inadequately secured loads in trailers and trays? Check.
• Kids riding bicycles towards oncoming traffic? Check.
Lack of Police presence allows the 'tards to load up and 'tard about. Fun times.
More police and more chance of actually getting caught should mean they will be less likely to offend. Of course there is always going to be runners, but if more polics prevents them from leaving home, less chance of a runner too. Dont need to pursue everyone.
Agreed, and my apologies for not addressing another factor in all this.
Certainly missing the deterrent element. I rarely see police vehicles since Covid. It really feels like anything goes.
So much so, that I considered getting back onto a bike after selling my last one in 1989. I have a fake plastic plate, and if I look like I belong (wear all the gear, don't be a d!ck) then it's a calculated risk.
Even without a licence.
Then I remember why I sold it in the first place…
@Speckled Jim: You can totally get away with it if you arent being a clown. Noone bats an eye if you obey the rules and look like youre going to do the right thing. Just have to watch for rego cameras in police cars.
"• Kids riding bicycles towards oncoming traffic? Check."
5ish yrs ago, I remember going to pick up a 2nd hand gaming PC from campbelltown, and some ~10yo kid on a push bike played chicken vs my car.
Had to cross to opposite side of the street to not kill him. Luckily no oncoming traffic at that moment.
Got a dashcam that weekend.
Thats just an average day on the Gold Coast.
Thing is unless you're elderly no-one gives a shit. Sure there will be an outcry but it lasts all of 2 weeks.
People think that police will get in trouble because of the Clare Nowland case but there was an exact case similar a few years back but there was minimal coverage because the guy was in his 30s.
Or a mother/pregnant woman:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-25/mother-struck-in-hit-…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12001997/Pregnant-w…
The first link was a 2015 incident. It falls outside the depleted post-Covid Police theory, but these activities seem to be on the rise. They don't always result in fatality, of course, but it's risky stuff that shouldn't be happening.
Call it a blessing that cheap pit bikes have brought us — any loser can get their hands on one.
Are you from Greenacre 🤔
No point in cameras if no numberplate.
The police told me that they weren't allowed to chase what might be kids on trail bikes in case that "causes" them to crash.
AI cameras matching what?
If they're not displaying a compulsory number plate on the bike why would they display one on their helmet.
That leaves the last two options.
AI cameras matching what?
I presume they mean the bike, the rider, the location, the time etc etc etc.
It will be interesting what they'll be doing with AI shortly…. maybe including how many false arrests
How about nothing?
You will never stop the tiny population who do this. Unless you plunge us all (further) into a dystopian slave state where every movement is monitored and controlled.
This is a fair comment. I would rather live here than in the UK…
We're already living "1984" , seventy percent of the population haven't taken a red pill yet !
They took Pfizer and friends + every one is on prescription uppers and downers - does that count?
That's one way to keep you in line 💯
I rather have motorbikes on the road, less traffic, more parking.
We could double the number of lanes if we banned cars.
These should be a natural combo.
No helmet? But what of its primary function, keeping bugs off your face?
Cheap servo sunnies FTW.
I think you are seeing things and you saw maybe one or two, perhaps, and now you're extrapolating this data out exponentially, or you are more actively looking for it.
A lot of the time, these bike DO have a rego plate, but it is illegally mounted up under the seat and in front of the rear tyre(ducati.ms) or hanging off the side of the swing arm(newragecycles.com) where they are not allowed to be mounted.
What do we do about it? Nothing. Arseholes gonna arsehole. Let the police do their job. If you feel the need to report it because they are being unsafe, have your local police station on your phone and give them a call when you see these bikers being dangerous.
Compulsory number plate stickers on helmets
Dumbest idea ever. I own 4 motorcycles… Do you propose I wear a different helmet for each bike? These dills are not attaching rego plates to their bikes, what makes you think they are going to attach it to their helmets?
More cameras around entrances to freeways
To what? Take photos of bikes without number plates?
Greater police presence on freeways
Well, that could work, but where are we going to get these "extra police"?? Let me guess "employ more"? They cant employ them fast enough as it is, and if we employ faster, we get worse cops.
AI Cameras for ID matching bikes/riders
Again… match them to what? A guy in a black jacket, with a black helmet and riding a black bike… well, that's 50% of the motorcycling fraternity
Vigilante justice
Yeah, because that always works out for the best…
Don't worry, these were all mostly stupid / tongue-in-cheek ideas… I was hoping to start a discussion and see if anyone else had some actually good ideas. I'm pretty sure police are aware of these issues, and have already done the best they can. Anyway, thanks for participating. PS. I've seen 3 bikes this week like this. While I make no claims to statistical accuracy, I have noticed entire groups of bikes "missing" plates.
That's probably due being enduro or motocross bikes , forget recreational registration
Compulsory number plate stickers on helmets
Could be onto something.
At the end of the day they're trying to identify the offender as opposed to the bike or vehicle they are using.
Don't really care which bike you were riding when you committed the offence, we don't penalise the bike, just the offender.
What's to start putting someone's number or even that's made up?
Same way we deal with not being the driver of a car identified by its registration plate.
@Muppet Detector: Annnnnd we are back to square one…
The same idiots who do not put a rego plate on their bike are sure as hell not going to put a rego plate sticker on their helmet.
Forcing motorcycle riders to get a rego sticker on their helmet is only punishing the riders who already do the right thing. I have 4 motorcycles here that I ride, so I would literally need either 4 helmets or a way to easily remove and refit a different rego label to my helmet… and how does making me wear a helmet rego label help police identify riders who are riding unregistered bikes with no plates and no helmet stickers?
Dumbest. Idea. Ever.
InB4 someone suggests some dystopian Nazi state level bullshit where ALL bikes are required to have GPS tracking and remote shut down capabilities or you need to submit a fingerprint scan and facial recognition scan into the bike and it needs to let police know who is riding it before the bike will even start.
One thing that does work is to block off all the exits to the motorway. NSW police did it a few times from Sydney to something stupid like Goulburn.
You can't do it every day because of the resources involved however they were successful because many people got caught not having an escape route.
Then pass laws so that anyone without authorisation when caught with no licence plate gets their vehicle crushed, increase unregistered vehicle and no number plate fine to something like 50,000. No id when caught? Police station until you identify yourself.
Then we'll this part they already do but anyone who doesn't pay loses their licences. Now you may say they they don't have a licence anyway but I'm more talking about job related licences that the state gives out. They also garnish wages to pay off debt.
E.g. rcg, high risk work licence, white card, and god forbid working with children certificate. You can drive unlicensed but you can't work without those licences.
Basically say you most likely won't get caught, but if you do your life is over. That's the deterrence needed.
Why though
For deterrence, for the few to be caught to be made an example out. That's a powerful deterrence.
Who really cares if someone is riding without a number plate. Let's solve an actual problem like people distracted by phones while driving.
You will if they crash into you or your loved ones and you have to sort out the uninsured mess of medical expenses. 🤷♂️
Them being uninsured means nothing. Your insurance covers you. You pay your insurance to do the debt recovery on your behalf. There is no “mess” to sort out, as you put in your claim and let the insurance company pay you out and chase up the other party for payment.
Also, riding without a license plate doesn’t make you an arsehole on a bike, riding like an arsehole is what makes you an arsehole and arseholes can both be registered and unregistered bikes.
It's only going to be the motorcyclist that gets injured 99 times our of 100.
But if not, TAC will cover medical.
Hi
Big stick in the front wheel spokes….
.
Vic government will probably want to ban motos next.
Are you taking about all the electric assist pushbikes that have had the pedals removed and do 80km/h
Seize and Destroy, 80% of these bikes arent apprehended at the time, but eventually they are apprehended, people always report these bikes n where they are living.
Try this
In my area only see say one motorbike to every say 100 cars and havent noticed the licence plate problem. So is it a real problem? There are plenty of plated but unregistered/uninsured cars on the roads these days i dont think people actually realise.
I see at least 5, probably more like 10, car drivers every single morning during peak hour on a particular Melbourne freeway on their mobile phone. I think that is a far more important and dangerous issue than this, where those riders are only seeking to avoid toll fees or Speed ("Safety" cough laugh) camera fines.
No Licence Plate Visible
They are number plates or registration number plates. The licence is associated with the driver/rider.
Wear a high visibility jacket, with either the registration number on it, or the riders driving license number on it. The jacket can be worn over leathers or whatever the rider chooses.
I see an increase of teens these days riding their new ebikes on the road that look like motorbikes. Don't know what happen but they usually look around like "look at me" to seek attention and ride on the other side of the road and no helmet. Def need more police presence.
An underpowered ebike in suburbia ridden by a kid versus a powerful motorcycle on a freeway ridden by someone probably adult.
No comparison.
Def need more police presence.
In suburbia chasing kids with no helmets or in busy roads? ? ?
Nope.
These are not the regular ebike they look like a motorbike and just as fast.. def near 18 or close or over
Ya in gold coast right? Cops are so chilled don't do shit there
Some Karens hate the idea of kids happily cruising along footpaths whilst they are stuck in traffic with their blobby tanks sucking fumes and guzzling fuel.
Hatred makes sense … for them!
hate the idea of kids happily cruising along footpaths
Oh this old "YoUsE JuSt HaTe KiDz HaViNg FuN!1!!" nugget.
A few days ago, I saw a kid on an ebike that I could only describe as an electric motorcross bike. He was on the cycleway next to the road I was on, no helmet and almost collected a woman with her 3~4yo kid and one in a pram. I was on the road doing the posted 60km/h limit and the guy on the e-bike was easily doing 70~80km/h as he sped away from me.
No one would care if they were cutting past traffic on their 500w pedal assist mountain bike that capped out at 25km/h, but these bike are not. They are 5,000w~15,000w bikes capable of 80km/h plus speeds, with no pedals and insufficient/no brakes and these "kids" are riding like "(fropanity)" around other bike riders, cars and pedestrians.
I am all for kids getting out and riding, but they have to do it legally. There is no "hatred" for the kids doing the right thing, only for the eshay type gronks riding what are essentially ILLEGAL silent motorcycles, at high rates of speed around innocent road users.
Attach quotas and then see them not so chilled.
So if there was 20 of them out there last week say to them you bring back 5, you get a 30 percent bonus for the pay cycle.
@Poor Ass: That's not the point. Don't underestimate how powerful a financial bonus is. You do good you're getting more than the guy sitting next to you.
And funnily enough sometimes the motivation isn't even financial. The biggest motivation is competition amongst colleagues 99 percent of people want to be the top performer (provided there is enough incentives)
Have you got dash cam footage of this that you can share?
Welcome to Vietnam
Punishment / fine will only work for an extent. Its better to address the root cause via better education etc. just my 2c!
They will keep doing it until they are either hurt or in gaol. They don't have any regard for rules, so even if caught by police, they'd likely do it again.
Happens with car drivers too.
More police wont do anything. Highway patrol arent allowed high speed pursuits anymore, and they know if they 'light up' a bike to get them to pull over, theyll just do a runner, so they dont bother. Source: neighbour is highway patrol.
Just let them be.
No license = don't give way
It fixes the kids on their modded ebikes when it gives them a scare of their life.
Obviously don't do it with little enough notice that they crash.
I am not a cop.
I suggest doing nothing, as nothing can be done. I've seen teenagers on modified e-bikes doing 60km/h in traffic up hill. That obviously is not a 250w e-bike.
Chase them? They can easily evade police. Fine them? Finding out where they live is difficult. Some of these bike/e-bike owners may decide to donate an organ eventually, and it's a choice they're willing to make.
The one exception I'd make is when unregistered motorbike owners deliberately hit people. I've had this happen to me when I was riding my bicycle and a couple of young teenagers came up behind on their motorbike, and one of them removed his helmet and whacked me over the back with it, and then rode off. I returned later in my car, driving around the area until I found them. Quietly followed them, and found out where they returned home. Details passed onto police.
Pointing out the obvious, which wasn't obvious before I started learning to ride motorcycle, that motorcycles don't have front plates. They just have rear plates.
Just in case you are looking at front of the bike :)
Sometimes its stolen. Happened to me
Lots of dirt bikes around now, esp Western Sydney. The cops have been told not to chase them as they (the bikes) inevitably crash or cause accidents. As word gets around, more and more of these kids are doing it. All times of day and night. Wheelies, speeding etc. Not sure what can be done and they know it. My husband has been to some of the accidents (he is frnsw) and he knows the cops are hamstrung.
Given the way these people ride, it's only a temporary problem.