off roading/Watch out

Just reviewing this post and Euan has come up and looked at the photo of my Nephew.

"I've ridden on that yellow bike that haven't I Daddy! When can we go to France, so I can have another go?"

Great post ralph and from the heart mate-the problem isn't the responsible parent like yourself but the ones who let there kids go out unsupervised with no control-but you'll find the places that these kids go to are also the same places you would take your kids, and the police when called can't be seen to show favouritism to anyone-each must be treated the same otherwise the coppers are leaving themselves wide open.
The police don't make the laws, just try and uphold them, common sense should always prevail but unfortunately it doesn't and we end up alienating people when our hands are tied.
I'd love to buy quads for my kids , i live next to farm land and an old railway but i know that the police would end up getting called and like it or not it would be classified as antisocial behaviour due to other members of the publics perception-thats an issue with motorbikes and the general public not the police .
As for living in a police state i don't agree there mate-if that was the case in this respect surely there would be a law created that unless you are a member of a club with a track you cannot purchase an offroad m/c quad etc ?.

Originally Posted by husky03

Great post ralph and from the heart mate-the problem isn't the responsible parent like yourself but the ones who let there kids go out unsupervised with no control

So punish them accordingly, don't outlaw the toy. We don't outlaw dogs, we punish the owners of dangerous dogs or those who don't keep them under control.

Originally Posted by husky03

that these kids go to are also the same places you would take your kids, and the police when called can't be seen to show favouritism to anyone-each must be treated the same otherwise the coppers are leaving themselves wide open

Why would punishing them be favoritism? I drive on the same roads as everyone else. If I flout the laws of the road and get punished, I don't view it as favoritism because those who didn't flout the law were left alone.

It's the same in a public park as it is on a public road, if somebody doesn't clean up after their dog, or if they vandalise the playpark equipment, they get punished. It's not favoritism towards all the other users of the park!

Originally Posted by husky03

The police don't make the laws, just try and uphold them, common sense should always prevail but unfortunately it doesn't and we end up alienating people when our hands are tied.

I know, I don't blame the police for any of this. I blame whoever has locked the law down to an unnecessary level, such that they have removed the freedom for you or I to buy our kids these toys.

Originally Posted by husky03

As for living in a police state i don't agree there mate-if that was the case in this respect surely there would be a law created that unless you are a member of a club with a track you cannot purchase an offroad m/c quad etc ?.

Just as we don't need a law restricting young car drivers to 80bhp, because it already exists in effect, the insurance industry regulates it for us through the cost of insurance.

We don't need this law to be created. It already exists in effect. You and I have both stated in this thread that we can't purchase a quad because we have nowhere to take it. It's a freedom that has been removed from us by the state.

Tbh Col, i agree, but the problem is there is a lot of parents who let their kids run wild so relying just on that argument wouldnt get laws changed.
Who would be on the land to police that the kids using these machines are with responsible parents ?

Would there be a charge to pay for the upkeep of land that would get a lot more use once parents knew they could buy quads and such like and use them legally ?

There is a lot of issues hence my comment, I also think Portugese and French parents generally are different to uk ones in terms of values and family life, our cultures are different.

Like I said I'm in favour of something, I really am.

There was a scheme at a local school by me that allowed parents to take their kids' minimotos to use for a small fee under a controlled environment, this was a joint venture between local police and school to cut number of kids riding them on local roads and parks.
Not sure it still runs now because school has been rebuilt and made one of these 'community college' type deals.

I kind of agree that we can't have petrol toys whizzing around public parks in our towns and cities. I'm using an extreme example for effect and to illustrate my overall point. You wouldn't be able to control it, grass would get ripped up and people would get hurt.

But it's always been the case that where you live places certain restrictions on you. If you live in an apartment on the 5th floor in a city centre, Johnny probably can't have a Kettler go-cart and he certainly can't have a paddling pool! If you live in a terrace in a suburb, little Samantha can have a bike, but she probably can't have a Pony!

That doesn't mean you have to outlaw the toy, just the use of them in public parks. Most play areas have a sign that says no bicycles or skateboards, and most parks, dogs must be kept on a lead. There are rules anywhere you go, but just because they have become a problem in some places, that doesn't mean to have to outlaw them everywhere.

The price of these things made in china on ebay means that these toys are no longer the reserve of rich kids who live on a farm. But sensible parents who know they have nowhere to store them or use them (like me and Husky), don't buy them. The kind of parents who do, and let the kids ride them along the pavement to an urban park, tend to have scrote families and they'll be at odds with the police anyway, so just f***ing throw the book at them as far as I am concerned.

I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I could push the quad a few hundred yards, or stick in it the boot of my estate car for 5 minutes, then be out in the countryside with miles and miles of tracks to explore. If it was legal to use those tracks that is!

Originally Posted by husky03

but you'll find the places that these kids go to are also the same places you would take your kids

The only reason these 'places' exist is because of the restrictions placed upon us. People can't go anywhere, they learn of a place where people do go, so they go there too, and you end up with lots of kids ripping round a makeshift motocross track on waste land somewhere.

The reason why the likes of France doesn't have this issue, is that when little Pierre asks to go out on his quad, Pierre's Papa sticks it in the boot of the car and takes him to the beach. Francois' Papa sticks it in the car and goes to a big forest or country park. Henri lives in the countryside, so his Papa just pushes it to the end of the lane. The 'problem' gets properly spread out.

[Biker Biggles]

France has about half the population density of Britain,hence a much more tolerant attitude to "other people"
I think that is where our problem lies.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

France has about half the population density of Britain,hence a much more tolerant attitude to "other people"
I think that is where our problem lies.

You are absolutely right, but in the UK our population density is caused by our cities and towns, and with the explosion of cheap chinese stuff off ebay, and a lot of people who have no common sense, and a disregard for the law and other people in society, that's where we have the problem.

Our countryside is very similar though, a village every couple of miles, with villages of similar size and population.

So I don't see why population density should preclude us from being free to use these things, where appropriate. As an island we have thousands of miles of beaches, mostly totally empty for miles and miles at a time, but we are not allowed to use them. We can race along them at 40mph if we are being pulled along by a kite or sail, or if we are pedalling something, but as soon as there's a petrol engine involved the police or coastguard turn up.

The problem is more society and government IMO that just population density.

[Biker Biggles]

Apart from the overpopulation issue the French have a much healthier attitude to authority than us.Maybe it stems from their revolution,but "off with their heads" seems to be their first response to jobsworths rather than our "yes sir straight away sir"
Cheese eating surrender monkeys maybe,but I can't help harbouring a grudging bit of admiration for them deep down.

Talk about opening a Can o Worms.... Phew!!!!!! Ralph that was epic post........a bet you kin argue in the pub.....

Husky,,, I know Lenny`s dad, an he was tellin me about his son gettin offered tae go off road.. whit a job ye`s have.. are they no vacancies...

a think Lenny owned a sv a while back.. havent saw his Trumpet, but his Dad has tyold me about it.........