Police have charged a 14-year-old Kedron boy after he allegedly fled from officers while riding an unregistered and unlicensed electric motorbike through members of the public and their pets along the Kedron Brook Bikeway.
The incident, which happened on 29 August, occurred during Operation X-ray Stamp, a continuing safety campaign targeting the illegal and dangerous use of e-bikes and electric motorbikes along the popular bikeway and throughout Brisbane’s northside.
Officers allege the teenager attempted to evade police when they tried to intercept him and later drove carelessly through a shared community space. An off-duty officer arrested him soon after. The boy was dealt with under the Youth Justice Act for one count each of driving a motor vehicle without a licence, using an unregistered and uninsured vehicle, obstructing police, and driving without reasonable consideration for others.
The arrest is part of a wider effort by North Brisbane police to tackle unsafe riding of e-bikes, e-scooters and other personal mobility devices along the Kedron Brook Bikeway and in nearby inner-city areas.
During the school holidays, officers from Brisbane City and Fortitude Valley have also been running Operation Fantale, focusing on similar offences involving e-scooters and e-bikes in public spaces. Across both operations, 15 people have been charged with 26 offences, including the detection of dangerous drugs, drug utensils and a knife.
Police have also extended Operation X-ray Stamp to include both visible and covert patrols, as well as education sessions at schools and with parents, aimed at preventing risky behaviour before it leads to injury.
North Brisbane District Superintendent Simon Tayler said too many riders—particularly teenagers—were putting themselves and others at risk by using unregistered or illegally modified e-bikes and scooters.
“It shouldn’t take someone getting seriously injured or dying for riders, or parents of children riding these devices, to start taking safety warnings seriously,” Superintendent Tayler said. “If you are buying a device for your personal use or for your child, you have an obligation to ensure it complies with the law. Ignorance is not an excuse, especially when the safety of others is at risk.”
He said officers would continue to combine education with strong enforcement, including fines, bike seizures and court action where warnings are ignored. “These public spaces are for everyone to enjoy,” he said. “Recklessly endangering the safety of others or yourself by riding unregistered or illegally modified devices is unacceptable.”
Residents in Kedron and nearby suburbs can expect to keep seeing local police patrolling the Kedron Brook Bikeway and other shared paths as the operation continues.
Published 7-Oct-2025