NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay has been the man finally able to legislate against these public menaces and he will be applauded for it – by most residents, at least.

These two-wheeled pests have been an irritation for too long and it is high time they were stamped out.

A handful of posters to the Western Advocate Facebook page yesterday argued that the government had gone too far with its legislation, but they were clearly a minority.

Some also argued that petrol-powered pushbikes were no more of a nuisance than ordinary pushbikes but they, too, missed the point.

The problem with these petrol-powered pushbikes is that they too often combine the worst elements of motorbikes and pushbikes, not the best.

The fact they are not registered and that their riders are not licensed means it is almost impossible for police to respond to complaints about poor behaviour.

Once police arrive at the scene when someone has been misbehaving on a petrol-powered bike, they are long gone and witnesses have no licence plate to provide officers.

And the lack of regulation means riders are much more inclined to ignore the road rules, which sees them riding on footpaths and the wrong side of the road.

Add to that the fact the crude motors installed on these machines are often old, oily contraptions that blow smoke and emit a piercing buzz, and it’s not hard to see why so many people despise them.

To those riders who properly care for their machines and strictly obey the road rules, we apologise for the inconvenience you now face.

But they must understand that far too many bad apples in this case spoiled the barrel a long time ago, and it was only ever a matter of time before the entire crop was dumped.