Melton police have been the first to impound a monkey bike under new state laws that give police greater powers to crackdown on bikes and riders.
The bike was seized after highway patrol officers noticed a man pushing it along High Street, Melton about 5pm on Monday.
Police say the man began to ride the bike but stalled and was unable to restart it. He then dumped the bike and ran. He has not been found.
Under the new legislation, which was introduced into Parliament in October and came into effect on January 1 this year, police have the power to impound bikes found without a rider and crush it after three months.
Riders found without a valid motorcycle licence will be charged with unlicenced driving and could face fines of up to $3109.
Previously, police were only able to issue fines to offenders for riding an unregistered vehicle.
Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said police received about 5000 calls each year about young people causing trouble on monkey bikes.
“For years we’ve been challenged by young kids zipping around suburbia on monkey or mini bikes, and we know this is high risk and dangerous to the community. It can have fatal consequences,” he said.
