Unlicensed, unregistered, and unwanted on our roads, teenagers have been terrorising motorists and pedestrians from the narrow seats of their recklessly driven dirt bikes.
Locals feel like it’s a ticking time bomb before someone is killed – or before vigilantes take matters into their own hands.
Penrith man Stuart said he recently witnessed teenagers wearing balaclavas doing wheelies past officers on the Great Western Highway. The local father added the problem won’t disappear unless we get to the root of it.
“I have empathy that there’s an entire area of low socioeconomic status in Penrith that has no hope, no opportunities and nothing else going for them; I think education and opportunity need to be introduced into those areas,” Stuart explained.
“Pretending that conclave of people are worthless and you don’t have to spend money on them is probably the biggest issue.”
For now, the adolescents display a lack of fear from their motorised thrones, with multiple reports of reckless riding through busy intersections.
“We were travelling east on Jamison Road heading from Jamison Park up towards Northern Road and an unregistered bike overtook us on the unbroken lines on the back wheel, chucking a wheelie with no helmet and no registration,” said North Richmond resident Glen.
“He was zipping through the traffic, and he came up to the intersection of Northern Road and just went straight through the red light.”
Just this week, Cambridge Park resident Neil almost collided with a boy on a bike as he was driving in the late afternoon with the sun in his eyes.
“I saw a silhouette of something coming towards me on the road, so I moved over into the parking lane in front of St Dominic’s and saw it was a motorbike doing a wheel stand down the wrong side of the road,” Neil recounted.
“He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I was coming straight towards him, and if I hadn’t pulled into the parking lane, I would’ve run him straight over.
“I grew up riding motorbikes myself, so in a different life, I probably would’ve said it’s just kids having a bit of fun, but they seem to have no concept of danger or death.”
Motorists aren’t the only ones impacted by irresponsible youth; Jordan Springs resident Benny said homeowners are struggling.
“Two Saturday’s ago, I was coming home at 10.30pm and I noticed three juveniles on dirt bikes in the side street checking door handles on cars,” Benny detailed, adding this was weeks after multiple thefts on his street.
Upon calling the police and explaining what he saw, Benny was appalled by the response.
“He said they’d been given a directive from above not to intervene with juveniles on dirt bikes because if they are injured in cause of a pursuit, they are liable personally,” Benny stated.
One woman had to move out of her dream home in Cranebrook’s Waterside Estate after five years of putting up with relentless dirt bikers.
“We would regularly do the lakeside walks around my estate, and on three different occasions we had episodes where motocross riders came down onto the walking tracks and were revving it up,” said Deb, who has since moved to South Penrith.
“You have to jump off the path to get out of their way.”
During her half-decade at Cranebrook, Deb stood up to dirt bike riders twice – she was mooned in retaliation the first time, and the second time a rider skimmed her leg.
She’s since been informed police aren’t allowed to chase the young riders.
This has raised the eyebrows of many residents wondering whose safety is more important: Law-abiding citizens or young potential criminals?
Belinda from Cranebrook called the police for help recently and said she felt like a second-rate citizen as the constable said there’s nothing they could do.
“I felt like the dirt bike riders’ welfare and their safety was more important than mine and my family’s,” the mother of three said.
“I just don’t know what to do. The local members don’t care, the police don’t care, the politicians don’t care, the Mayor doesn’t care.”
Belinda explained she used to run a business in Union Lane but moved elsewhere due to the constant torment.
“They would be there daily riding in the back car park, terrorising people, chasing people, riding up and down the path on High Street,” she explained.
Last year, she was knocked over on High Street as she was protecting an older woman with a walker.
“I grabbed the walker and pulled her back before being knocked over by the guy on the Vespa,” Belinda recounted.
“He had no helmet on, he had a passenger with him, they were both wearing balaclavas, and they screamed at me. I tore up the side of my leg, my arm, and my pants.
“If they hit this old lady, they would have killed her.”
One employee at a High Street business told the Weekender a customer was recently hit while leaving their store.
Another employee stated they’ve been riding on the footpath, on the wrong side of the road, and causing chaos with traffic.
Nepean Regional Security’s Gina Field said the dirt bike saga has been going for a long time.
“We’ve had all of our front lawn ripped up at our office area in North Penrith, mud spewed all over our employees’ vehicles, and our patrol officer has been stopped at the lights with trail bike riders terrorising from the front and back of the vehicle,” Field stated.
She’s been informed that police can’t chase them down, and the dirt bike riders are aware of that.
“They know that they’re juveniles, they’re underage, the legal system won’t do anything with them, they’ll get a slap over the wrist, the cops can’t chase them, and they’re faster than the police cars,” Field explained.
“This is an epidemic, it’s a plague, and I’m concerned people are going to start taking matters into their own hands.”
Nepean Police Area Command issued a statement, claiming they are taking action where possible and have undertaken several special operations.
“In response to the issue of trail bikes, Nepean PAC carried out ‘Operation Spoiler’ on the 19th of December 2024. The operation consisted of Traffic and Highway Police Command, Nepean Proactive Crime Team, Nepean PAC Trail Bike operators, and Nepean PAC General Duties,” the statement said.
“The operation resulted in several charges and the recovery of a stolen vehicle. More importantly it created a high visibility presence which has been proven as an effective tool in the reduction of crime.
“Nepean PAC assisted the Traffic and Highway Command with an operation targeting the use of trail bikes on the 18th of March 2025.
“Nepean PAC plan on running similar operations moving forward and remain committed to the reduction in crime.”
Ally Hall
Ally Hall joined the Weekender in 2024, and focuses on entertainment and community stories. She's a graduate of the University of South Australia and has previously worked as a Video Journalist with Southern Cross Austereo and as a News Reader with Australian Radio Network.