Police issued 38 penalties to e-scooter riders in a crackdown in Melbourne last Friday, during the first week of the shared e-scooter trial.

A shared e-scooter trial, run by the Department of Transport, kicked off in the Port Phillip, Yarra and City of Melbourne local government areas last Monday.

Police were “consulted extensively” on the trial prior to its beginning.

Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Glenn Weir says 18 of the 38 fines issues to e-scooter riders last Friday were for privately owned scooters, which are illegal if they’re over 200 watts or can go faster than 10km/h

The remaining 20 fines were issued to riders using the shared scooters.

“They were for things like not wearing a helmet, going through red traffic lights, having passengers,” Mr Weir said.

Mr Weir says more operations targeting e-scooters will be conducted in the next two weeks.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the police crackdown