Corowa Police Sgt Steve Marshall says e-scooters are simply illegal, and riders have been warned of the consequences.
Corowa Police have seized e-scooters in the latest crackdown on their illegal use as they battle to get the message through - e-scooters are illegal on NSW public roads and pathways.
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As of publication, three e-scooters had been seized in the past 10 days for illegal use.
One was seized from a primary school student riding his mate’s e-scooter in the McDonalds carpark while sitting on a milk crate.
The young boy unsuccessfully attempted to evade police who seized the e-scooter and returned it to the owner’s parent.
A further two e-scooters were seized in Parliament St, Corowa where a 14-year-old and 15-year-old male were seen riding them.
Both young people’s fathers later attended the police station and collected these e-scooters.
Sergeant Stephen Marshall ran an operation earlier this year to curtail the use of e-scooters in public places by way of positive reinforcement rather than punishment, rewarding kids for using push-powered bikes and scooters and riding within the rules.
While the operation had temporary success, Sgt Marshall said the long-term outcome has not been achieved, with kids spotted regularly riding e-scooters around Corowa, including double-stacking.
“At the risk of being the fun police, we requested riders to stay away from high pedestrian and traffic areas,” Sgt Marshall said.
“This referred specifically to Sanger St, Riesling St and Queen Street and the arterial roads into Corowa.
“This request appears to have fallen on deaf ears.”
According to Sgt Marshall, the NSW Government is fine tuning legislation regarding e-scooters, however, even if changes happen, children under the age of 16 will not be permitted to ride in public.
He said existing law states that privately owned e-scooters are illegal and since May 2026 police have had the ability to seize e-scooters.
Two of the e-scooters seized last week by Corowa Police in their latest crackdown on illegal scooter use.
Currently, NSW road regulations state that privately owned e-scooters are not allowed on NSW roads or related areas, including trial locations.
Sgt Marshall said the helmet operation was used as a public education opportunity and a way to identify those already in possession of e-scooters, but due to numerous reports, police are taking a harder line.
“People may ask, why the crack down now?” he said.
“My answer to that is that some people have paid good money for these and we didn’t want to come out as the ‘gestapo’ and start seizing e-scooters.
“Already, police have had several youths take off on them.
“This was foreseen months ago and police now know who these kids are due to our earlier engagement operation.”
What does the law say?
· Privately owned e-scooters are prohibited for use on roads and road related areas in NSW.
· Privately owned e-scooters are considered to be a motor vehicle under the Road Transport Act 2013 and it is an offence if a motor vehicle is not registered to drive on NSW roads.
· It is an offence to drive a vehicle on a road without being licensed.
· It is also an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road if it is not insured.
· Other offences that apply to motor vehicles also apply to privately owned e-scooters, including speeding offences.
